Knights of the Old Republic: Unexpected Allies
by chaddad97
Summary: When Shemric Norm is sent on a mission to the abandoned planet of Tarsis, nothing goes the way he expects and to survive, he must take on a surprising ally. (This story is set in the years preceding and following the Treaty of Coruscant.) The story is now finished and I went back and edited for lines between the breaks.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

3655 BBY—Abandoned planet of Taris

When his master had given Shemric the task of retrieving the information, they had known it would be a race against Imperial agents to get there first. The location he had been given was deep in the heart of the legendary towering domes of Taris. It was very sad to see the massive destruction that had been wrought by Darth Malak and his bombardment three hundred years earlier. Many of the domes had been destroyed or structural damage had led to their later collapse, but enough still remained that it was not hard to imagine the once great cityscape.

Since he had parted with his master, who was searching in another location, Shemric had run across a number of Rakghouls that had taken swipes at him as he passed on his speederbike, but so far they had been the only resistance. He had been warned about the dangerous creatures and gave them as wide a berth as possible. The ruined landscape was marred by fallen buildings, ruptured permacrete streets and debris everywhere. The guidance system on his speeder had mapped the most efficient route, but even then he had to slow often to avoid obstacles that were not visible from space. Despite the difficult ride, he soon located the building where the coded information was supposed to be contained and hid the bike to continue on foot, lightsaber now in hand. He flicked his helmet visor up and began to scan the area visually and by the Force.

With no power available, he took to the stairs, steadily climbing the seventy-four floors to where the old computer system was physically located. He did not call upon the Force but steadily tapped out a rhythm and relied on his conditioning to do the work. Many Jedi found his obsession with physical training to be a bit odd, but Shemric figured that the less you had to rely on the Force, the further you could go when you really needed it. Perhaps it was also because Shem was very naturally athletic in the way of distance runner with long legs and a slim build. Certainly no one had ever called him muscular; most of the time they told him he looked like he should eat an extra sandwich.

Several times during the ascent, he sensed rakghouls on the floors he passed, but as none troubled him, he continued on without stopping. As he approached the specific floor, he slowed and brought his breathing under control. He was sweating freely under his armor and took out a water bottle which he drained steadily while throwing his awareness wider. He stopped gulping in an instant as he felt another presence not far away like nothing he had encountered before. Water dripped down his chin unnoticed while he screwed the lid back on and reattached the bottle.

Shemric pushed open the door from the stairwell and was greeted by a half-dark room that took up much of the entire floor. Row upon row of computer banks made a small maze as he tried to work his way to the middle of the room, all the while aware of the other presence that seemed even closer. He finally found a hallway between the banks and could see what looked like the main computer node ahead of him.

Shemric keyed the mike in his helmet and sent out a call to his master.

"Have the computer node in sight, Master Keddis," he called. "I feel something odd, Master. Approaching now."

"Copy, Shem," came his master's familiar voice. "Approach with caution.I, too can feel something odd today. Report as soon as you have something new."

Shemric replied and then moved to the terminal node. Just as he entered the open area, the disturbance he felt exploded into something violent and near. He ignited his saber and parried a crimson arc that would have ended with his head on the ground, unattached, had he not blocked. He gave a surprised Force shove and did a backward flip that carried him on top of a row of computers. He looked down to see his attacker smirking at him.

Her long, black hair was pulled back severely from her face in a pony tail and the sides of her head were shaven. She did not look to be much more than fifteen or sixteen, so likely she was an apprentice like himself. Her clothing was overly-dramatic Sith black that did fade a bit into the unlit interior of the room but her skin was light enough to see her face clearly; Shemric was a little surprised that he found her quite pretty. She was also even thinner than he was and probably five or six centimeters short of his own 1.8 meter height.

"Why are you staring, little Jedi? Do you see omens of your death?"

If Shemric had attempted to stereotype a Sith, he doubted he could have done any better job than the girl in front of him. She was all steely arrogance and hate, ready to chop him in half and spit on his remains. For all of the danger of the situation, he could not but help feeling a little thrill of excitement. His first real solo mission and he was facing one of the Jedi's mortal enemies. He leaped down from the top of the computer module to face her and as he did his face broke into a huge smile. "A real, live Sith, complete with red lightsaber; how did I get so lucky?"

The girl frowned at this, now a little confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing, you just surprised me," he said, trying to sound relaxed. "Now that I know what a Sith feels like in the Force, I will make sure I am not surprised next time."

"There will not be a next time for you, Jedi," she said and she leaped to attack.

Shemric waited to move until the last moment and then blocked her first strike with a solid, two-handed blow that drove her back. He smiled at her and her pale skin darkened in anger. He fell comfortably into Sorensu while she attacked with a flurry of blows that caused him to retreat slightly along the row of computer banks while he analyzed her style. It reminded him a bit of Djem So and so he simply continued to counter with the simplicity of Sorensu while he waited out her initial fury.

When the bank of computers ended, Shemric stopped short and refused to budge. The Sith grimaced and attacked even harder, pounding on his defense with Force-enhanced blows that shivered down his arm. When an opportune strike presented itself, he switched to Makasi and attempted to twist her blade out of her grip. The change surprised her and she did an elegant side flip in the direction he had swatted her saber, which took her back to open ground in the center of the floor.

She rolled to her feet as he approached slowly to meet her.

"You were lucky," she said. Her derision had been replaced with an expression of loathing.

"Was I?" he said, again breaking into a smile. "Well, it happens."

"What do you find so amusing?" she asked. He noted then that she was breathing hard; her previous attack had been a difficult effort for her apparently. Well, he was in no rush to end this.

"I told you … you know, the fact that I finally get away from the Jedi Temple and I get to fight a Sith already. I mean, maybe I am lucky."

She howled and attacked again but this time he met her with Sorensu and refused to give ground. Her strikes were weaker than before and he wondered how much of her Force reserves she had used on the first, vicious assault. His armor had kicked into cooling mode as his body temperature rose, but he could still feel the sweat rolling down his forehead and into his eyes. His master's words came to him then, reminding him to rely more on the Force and less on his physical senses. Normally, this did not work out so well, because of his Block, but this time he slid into the Force-trance smoothly and suddenly the fight slowed down as he felt the odd sense of falling that came with heightened awareness.

The Sith continued to batter at his defenses but he withstood her effortlessly, circling and wheeling to maintain secure footing and open spacing. The enlarged sense of space told him that something, probably one or more of the rakghouls had entered their floor and he leaped back and Force-threw the Sith girl to the side as two of them burst into the open area. Shemric switched immediately to his own version of Djem So and hacked off limbs as the beasts came at him one after the other. He pitied their existence and felt it was a mercy to end them. Both lay dead before the Sith girl had managed to regain her feet and her composure.

If anything, she looked even angrier now. "Why did you do that? I could have dealt with them, and you. You were a fool to not strike me down when you had the chance, or try to, at least."

"I'm just here for a bit of information, girl," he said. She bristled at the name.

"I am Julienne Qa, not girl," she said.

"Well, manners, _finally_ ," he said and gave a slight bow. "And I am Shemric Norm. I am pleased to meet you Julienne Qa, despite the waves of Darkside Force rolling off you. Who would have thought it?"

"Now you mock me," she said, and reignited her saber before leaping at him.

"Shem, this is Keddis, this was all a trap; get out of there now," came a frantic screech in his helmet communicator. The transmission jarred him and he simply dove sideways without meeting the red blade. Rolling to his feet, he keyed his own mike.

"Master, repeat transmission; break off the mission?" he called quickly.

"Confirm, Shem, your building has been targeted for a fighter strike and I am under attack," said Keddis. Shem's awareness suddenly noted the feelings of strain in his master's voice. "Do your best to go to Rally Point B… " heavy breathing, "… I will join you if I can. Hurry, boy!"

"Ah, so you know that you are betrayed here to die," said the Sith, smiling across from him. "My master will be killing your friends shortly."

"Yeah, well, being Sith, you should not trust your own master all that much," he said and then turned and sprinted for the open balcony on their floor while trying to sense how close the fighters might be. She yelled something after him that he did not catch.

He slid to a halt outside the broken glass doors and gripped the balcony while he used eyes and Force to search for the fighters. They were close. He spun to face the Sith as she emerged through the doors to face him.

"What are you talking about, fool? I was sent here to kill you," she said.

"Fighters, targeting this building," he said quickly. "Maybe this floor." The next building over was very far away. On his best day he doubted he could have covered half the distance with a leap. He chanced a quick glance above and noted that there was a walkway a dozen or so floors above that had once connected the two buildings. It had been sheared through the center, but the ends of the bridge were still intact and that looked like a distance he could leap. If he could get up there before the fighters came.

He attacked her using Djem So at its most brutal and wielded much more of the Force than was normally available to him. She was driven back inside the doors and he leapt sideways as soon as he was inside before skipping rapidly along the tops of the computer banks towards a stairway. Unfortunately, another rakghoul was coming out just as he leaped for it.

They collided and Shemric drove his boot into its chest and knocked it back through the doorway. He rode the beast down and then leaped up with a crunching sound as he pushed off its ribcage. He ran for the stairwell, taking the steps four or five at a time as he sped up the ruined flight, twice nearly falling when he tripped over debris that was difficult to see with only the lightsaber for light. As he rushed up the stairs, he felt the Sith following him. She was certainly not gaining on him, but it was still a question of whether they would outrace the fighters.

That question was answered immediately when the stairs under him shuddered and pitched. He was tossed into a wall and lost his breath for a moment while he covered his face to avoid the rubble breaking off stairways up above. The building groaned and tipped then stopped about thirty degrees off of level. He sat for a moment casting out his Force-sense and thought that the fighters were still in the area, so they might not be finished. He ignited his lightsaber and was about to start up again when he became aware a sharp pain, pressing on his awareness. Shemric grimaced and wondered if he was really going to check on the Sith. His feet seemingly started on their own and he descended as quickly and quietly as he could manage.

The Sith girl was pinned under a slab of permacrete where the stairs had broken away. She looked conscious but in a great deal of pain and when their eyes met, her gaze was a curious mix of desperation and hope. Without speaking to her, he closed his eyes and reached out to the slab. Telekinesis was not his thing, but since he had gained greater Force-awareness during the fight in the computer node, he was confident he could do anything. It moved slowly upwards and she moved back until she was out from under it and he could slowly lower it back to the ground. She rose on one leg and pushed off with the other but cried out quietly and gripped a railing.

"They are coming back," he said simply. "You want a hand?"

"Only in killing my treacherous master," she spit.

"I thought you Sith do this kind of thing to each other all the time?" he asked neutrally. He did not recognize the curse words, but her intent was plain.

"Well, I'm leaving," he said and began to turn.

"Wait … " she called and then stopped. He doubted she would actually stoop to asking for help, so he reached out and tried to lift her across the collapsed section of stairs.

"Come on, now," he said and resumed his climb, unwilling to go so far as carry her or get any closer. When he had covered perhaps five more flights the building rumbled and shook again, though this time there was less wrenching and twisting of metal. He peered back to see if the Sith was still following and saw that she was. He propped open the door with a chunk of debris and then half-ran, half slid down the hallway until he found a door that led the direction he wanted. Unfortunately his count had been off and he was on the floor below the walkway that was now canted downward and a good fifteen meters below the walkway from the other building which was now even further distant.

 _Well that did not help._

More cursing sounded behind him and he turned to see the girl—what was her name, Juli-something—limping along the tilted hallway. She did not appear to have her lightsaber anymore, that he could tell.

"Look," he said, "I can probably heal that if you will let me. Otherwise, I do not see how you are going to get out of here."

She stared at him for a good twenty seconds before shaking her head. "Why you want to try is beyond me. I'm still going to try and kill you when I get my hands on another saber."

"Maybe you will change your mind after this," he mumbled. "Sit down," he said and once she complied, he lifted her foot in the air and felt along the leg until he could sense the damage. He explored further and noted nothing was broken or cut, so he began to delve deeper, smoothing the Force-flow and healing the damaged tissue.

"If you would stop thinking such dark thoughts, this would be easier," he said quietly. He smiled when she cursed him, but a moment later she had cleared her mind and the healing proceeded more quickly. After perhaps five minutes, Shemric began to sense something else; his master was troubled, even desperate and likely wounded as well. Shemric set down the girl's leg and sat back as he tried to reach out to his master. A sharp blast of pain hit him and then a whispered voice spoke in his ear. _Remember, my son, the Force is not a tool you pick up and put down. It is a part of you. Only when you yield your own will can you be what you were meant to be._ If such a thing were possible, he would have sworn that his master was smiling. And then he was gone.

Shemric fell back, stunned. Master Keddis had taken him on as Padawan far past the normal age, when none others would agree to it. They had been together for three years and Keddis had been a constant, comforting and challenging figure during that time. Shemric doubted another would take him on, assuming he managed to escape from this tombworld.

"Hey, you, what is your problem?" came the Sith's voice and Shemric jerked back to the present. She was leaning over him, her eyes a mixture of concern and impatience. But at least she had not killed him.

"My master is dead," he said and fought down a moment of anger and desire for vengeance. He needed to worry about escape now, if it was possible. Another round of impacts shook the tower and suddenly they were sliding toward the yawning gap in the building's side and open air. He managed to grab a railing and caught her dark leather tunic and swung her to catch the same rail a few sections below him. The top half of their building wrenched and twisted until it slammed into its adjacent skyscraper and ground to a stop at a nearly level position.

The railing popped several bolts and yawned into open air as Shemric began to climb as quickly as he could, not thinking about the sixty story fall to the ground. With a high-pitched, metallic screech the last bolts gave way and he leapt for the double doorway and somewhat firmer ground. He rolled to see if the girl made it and saw four fingers of one hand curled around the lip of the metal doorframe. He crawled over and Force-swung her into the room. Fortunately for both of them, the hallway had a small foyer which provided the precarious ledge on which they found themselves, but a way out would require them to climb straight up the wall that did not offer any holds. Well, that was no good. He ignited his saber and started burning through the "wall" next to him, hoping it might open into a room of some kind. It did, and they began to leapfrog awkwardly upwards, occasionally thrown off by the continued creaking of the building. Finally, they found a stairway and then the argument started.

"What are you doing?" she blurted out when he started walking on the floor/wall.

"I'm going over to the other building," he said. "I do not want to go down and find visitors on the ground waiting."

"That is insane," she insisted. "This whole section could plummet at any moment."

"Fine," he called over his shoulder. "Go your own way."

He started to trot along the awkward floor and used the Force to correct his balance whenever the building swayed. He could sense she was still following. Eventually he had to backtrack where the damage closed off the passage, but by that point the top of his fallen building was now inside its neighbor. Now that he was not in danger of falling to his doom, Shemric found a small office, righted the overturned chair and sat to meditate. He was now on a dead planet with no resources and likely no way off. He could try Rally Point B, but if they had been betrayed, he doubted that was safe either. That meant stealing a Sith ship, which seemed unlikely. He seemed to be stuck on a planet with little to no resources and plenty of dangerous fauna that would be happy to infect him or eat him.

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see the Sith sitting on the floor opposite him. She opened her eyes only a moment after he did.

"You seem very capable, Jedi," she said.

"Is that a compliment, from a Sith?" he teased. She scowled and then smoothed her features.

"I find myself short a lightsaber and with a master who is no doubt hunting me at this very moment," she said. "At least three times you have tried to save me, even when it was not necessary. I do not like the feeling of debt. I propose a truce, for now."

He smiled. She was a pretty thing and yet, she was still Sith. He ought to be doing something besides enjoying her face. "Put it out of your mind," he said. "I just did what I thought was right. You do not need to feel like you owe me anything."

"Nevertheless," she interrupted, "I pay my debts and I shall in this case as well. You were lured here by Imperial double agents in hopes that others of greater importance would come. My master will come for me and together we shall kill him. Then I will help you escape this planet."

"That sounds simple and dangerous," he said. "What are you going to do without a lightsaber?"

"You do not carry an extra, by chance?" she asked, and smiled for the first time.

He snorted loudly. "Uh, no, though on a crazy world like this, I might scrounge up the parts. I doubt we have the time to do it with your master coming after us."

"You could build your own?" she asked in surprise.

"Of course," he said. "but without a focus crystal, it will not matter. Have you ever made a metal blade before?"

"No, not that either," she admitted.

"Well, I have," he said. "There is plenty of duralloy around here. We might make a passable weapon. We better get a move on either way."

Shemric later wondered why he had trusted her from the very beginning and why she had actually asked for help. They moved quickly through the skyscraper and managed to find a walkway connecting to another building, so that when they reached the ground they were several buildings over.

"Can you reduce your Force signature?" he asked. "Make it harder for him to find you?"

"Of course I can," she said. "I have been doing it since you first convinced me my master was trying to eliminate me. He can still find me, but he will have to stop and meditate to get a location and in the mean time I can keep moving."

"Ok, then let us move," he said. "And if you see any machine shops or anyplace that might have precious stones then please point it out. We might be able to cobble something together for you to use."

They descended the long stairway from their building and did not find anyone waiting for them at the bottom. They moved off at a trot and kept to as much cover as the buildings allowed. After maybe half an hour Shemric sensed someone was coming.

"Cover!" he shouted and ran into the nearest skyscraper. The windows were reflective and still whole, so he hoped they might spot the opposition without being seen. Along the way Julienne had picked up a steel bar that was roughly the length of a saber and she hefted it next to him while they waited.

Moments later a dropship landed in the square they had just vacated and soldiers poured out, including two wielding red lightsabers.

"Know them?" asked Shem.

"They are just marauders," she whispered.

"Which are ….?"

"Warriors who can fight with the Force but are not deemed capable enough to send to the academy," she replied. Her grip on the pipe left her knuckles all white. She might show distain for her Sith compatriots, but she feared them, too. "They are strong enough to sense us but not pinpoint our location. They will work themselves into a rage and come at you until you are dead, or they are. Some of them can be quite strong in the Force, just not very ... subtle."

"Great, well, do we run or fight?" asked Shem.

"Oh, we fight; we might manage to steal their dropship," she said. "You are going to have to take the marauders; leave the others to me."

He gave her a hard look. "Now would not be a good time to change sides on me."

She snorted as soldiers approach the building. "I'm on my own side." She nodded her head toward the approaching force. "They are here for me, not you, which means our little alliance profits both of us a bit longer."

He nodded as she leapt through the door and began laying about her with the pipe. She was quick, he had to give her that. Shemric cleared their melee and landed in front of the marauders who smiled and immediately rushed him. They did not attack as a team though, so it was really like fighting two separate people instead of two at once. With two blades against his one, Shemric dropped into Sorensu and let the men exhaust themselves with a wild flurry of Dark-side driven attacks. They were certainly powerful, but the disadvantage of uncoordinated fighters was that each only thought of himself as an individual; Shemric deftly deflected strike after strike. When the attacks grew wilder, the men began shouting something in Sith and poured even more power into the strength of their strikes.

The balance of the fight tipped in Shem's favor when he sensed a lessening in the speed and control of one of the men. Immediately, Shemric switched to Makasi and sent the Sith's blade flying before piercing his heart with a twisting thrust. The man fell back and Shemric saw the look of surprise on his face. The man had not thought to die today. The second man howled loudly and continued to attack, but he simply was not skilled enough to penetrate Shem's defense and then a rock impacted the side of his head and he fell limp to the ground.

Staring at the other man on the ground, Shemric realized it was the first time he had killed an opponent in face to face combat.

His Force awareness narrowed and fled leaving him standing looking down at the men. Only a shout from Julienne brought him back to a full awareness of his surroundings. He ran to her defense only to feel incoming fire behind him. The dropship was hovering and firing at them with its door guns. Shemric charged immediately and the ship started to rise as he approached. A Force-aided leap put him in the side door where he cut down both door gunners and ordered the pilot to land. The man had other ideas and pulled a sidearm and began firing over his shoulder. The aircraft banked precariously and Shemric was dumped unceremoniously out the open door he had just entered. Spinning in the air, he hurled his lightsaber at an engine pod and saw the green blade carve into the rotating thruster. He recalled his blade as he dropped to the ground and watched as the ship, already banking precariously was unable to clear a pile of wreckage and cartwheeled over and over into the ground.

He turned to see that Julienne had taken care of the soldiers and was now armed with the marauders lightsabers with one in hand and the other clipped to her belt.

"Did I not mention that was our ride out of here?" she said.

"Hey, you have a lightsaber now," he pointed out.

"Two," she said with a smile that was all sinister and not friendly. "But we still have to walk."

"Well, what did you plan on doing?" he asked. "Fly in and challenge your master to a duel?"

"Something like that," she said. "As long as we win, I'll be fine. The other soldiers will take orders from me or at least not stop me from leaving. If we lose it will not matter to either of us."

"Well, I think we need to get underground," he said. "Find a way into the lower levels and work our way back towards wherever your landing field is located. Unless he just decides to leave you here…" saidShem

"Oh, he will want to know I am dead, " she replied. "He does not like loose ends. I do not think we need to worry about being abandoned. And that means when we kill him, we can take his ship."

"Ok, then, let us find a way down," he said.

As they trotted off, Shemric tried not to think about how bleak their chances of success looked about then. His uneasy alliance with a Sith apprentice was the least of his problems.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2—Taris, below the surface**

A day later, nothing had changed to make their situation any better. They had found a way down to the lower levels at a huge metal canyon that gave access to the city's lower levels and had been widened into a gaping rent by the bombardment. The girl seemed disinclined to chat and Shem's feeling of isolation and loneliness increased after hours underground with only the occasional light filtering through holes in the upper city that were caused by the bombardment. The underground levels were alive with all sorts of creatures, most of which were not friendly: feral dogs and other pets; rakghouls, of course; and occasionally Shemric thought he sensed people on the very edges of his awareness. Their thoughts were very curious and Shemric was surprised that there were any humans still alive here.

Not all of the creatures slunk away in the dark and Shemric and Julienne were forced to cut them to pieces. Julienne was not very good at fighting as a team and she often jumped in front of him and complicated what could have been otherwise simple combat.

"I take it you and your Master did not fight together much," he said after he had nearly sliced her when an unidentified dog-like creature had charged them. It had been closer to Shemric and he had his blade ignited and was about to dissect in when she had rushed in and finished it.

Her look in the glow of her red blade was confusion. "Are you asking if we fight each other or fight together against others?"

"The second," he said.

"No," she said and abruptly extinguished her blade making it impossible to read her expression. "What is your point?"

"Just observing something," he said. "There is a certain technique to fighting as a pair and it includes not jumping in front of your partner."

"You were slow," she said.

"Why rush in when your opponent is coming to you?" he asked.

"Why stand and wait for the daylight to return?" she said, a hint of scorn back in her voice. "Besides, how are we partners?"

"How good is your master? Is he one of your Sith Lords?"

"He is," she replied as she started off again. "Darth Fright is the chief operator and field representative of Darth Mortis, a member of the Dark Council."

Shemric chortled. "Really? He goes by Darth Fright? Where do you get these names? Are you going to be Darth Angry when you grow up?"

He sensed her anger explode as she spun and flashed her ignited lightsaber towards his neck. It was a gamble, but he stood unmoving and her blade stopped just short of his skin. He could see her face again and she appeared to be mumbling something under her breath. And then she met his eyes and smiled that predatory gleam again and switched off her weapon leaving them once again in the dark. And then she chuckled.

"You have nerve, I will give you that," she said. "You were asking about my mast—my former master before you … digressed."

"Well, if he is any good with a blade and employs all your Dark side tricks we are going to be hard-pressed to defeat him unless we work well together."

"And what do you suggest?" she replied.

"Well, we need to work some basic tactics against him and it seems we have plenty of opportunity to practice down here," he said.

"Again, what are you suggesting?"

Shemric stopped and pulled out a small lamp. He used his finger to draw in the dust on the metal floor. "Like this," he pointed and began to explain. "Whenever you fight two-on-one you want to keep your enemy between you. He will try to do the opposite so he can fight you one at a time. When he attacks one person the other immediately moves to a position where he or she can attack your mutual opponents back. The better you are at centering someone between you, the more that opponent has to divide his attention."

"And you want to practice this before we fight him?" she said. "Let us say that dog-thing was our opponent; in theory I would have moved to your right and made him choose between us."

"In simple terms, yes," he said. "Center them and divide their attention."

"That does not sound too hard," she said. "I will think on it." She was quiet again and they moved steadily deeper into the bowels of the sub-surface levels continuing in the direction she believed would bring them to the Imperial landing zone. No one attempted to follow them, but there were plenty of opportunities to practice their new union of skills as animals attacked them quite regularly and will savage intent.

That first evening they slept in the remains of an old hotel. Like anything that had been neglected for three hundred years, it was covered in dust and most of the non-metal items decayed, but after a little searching, they found a room that was intact and sealed that had a mattress and a functioning lock. They barred the doorway to the bedroom and to the hall upon which the main room opened and took turns sleeping. Julienne was not talkative so Shemric slept and meditated in silence. After his master's death, he had lost his deeper Force awareness and it frustrated him with its unpredictable nature; it came and went at times without his efforts. At least he was able to access it every time now through meditation, but he was not going to be able to sit down and meditate in the midst of a battle. During the day's fighting and running, it had seemed to be there when he needed it, but that only confirmed what his now-dead master had once speculated—that times of stress and danger broke through the block he had built up since childhood.

During their journey in the dark, there had been times when he had sensed the attacking creatures before Julienne and times he did not. Several times only a growl or bark had kept him from being completely unaware until they had been attacked. It was not a comforting thought.

He cast out his mind again and sensed, first and foremost, Julienne sleeping in the room at his back. She had a very grayish form in the Force, as if she still tried to walk the line between dark and light. It was part of the reason he trusted her; of course, the other part was that he had very little choice. Beyond the hotel there were small, nocturnal vermin about and somewhat larger predators hunting them. Further out he received the impression there was a desperate but thriving balance of hunter and hunted going on down where the sun rarely shown. He felt a bit of their desperation as he closed his eyes and put away doubts and worries. Hopelessness would not help him now.

Something jolted him at the very edge of his awareness; something steeped in the Dark side and moving in their direction. He jumped to his feet before he was even aware of moving and began to knock on the door. By the third knock, the door was wrenched open.

"Grab your pack," said Julienne as she brushed by him. "We are leaving, now!"

Shemric did so, and by the time he was ready to leave, Julienne had wrenched the wedge out from under the other door and they were trotting out of the hotel in moments. Fortunately, the shock of sensing this new thing had not robbed him of Force-awareness and he could sense whatever it was coming closer.

Without being asked, she explained. "They are tracking dogs. Only they have been alchemically altered to be larger, faster and more vicious than normal. At least, I assume they have. They do not really hunt together, but they will avoid fighting each other until they have run down their prey."

"So we run?" he sounded doubtful and felt exhausted.

Her disgusted snort told him what she thought of that idea. "Not on two legs we cannot. I am looking for a place to fight them where they cannot surround us, but we are not cornered either. Sometimes, when they attack and you wound them, they will turn on each other at the smell of blood."

"How many, do you think?" he asked.

"A dozen, maybe less," she said. "More than that and they will start fighting no matter what target they have." She jerked to a stop and regarded a long corridor that was maybe ten meters wide. "This might work. Stay here." She ran off in the dark and Shemric wondered if she intended to return at all. He sensed her returning quickly and he soon saw the glow of her saber. "We wait here. This hallway goes on for another two hundred meters without any breaks so we can fight them and draw back slowly without them looping around and coming at us from both sides. Keep your pack on."

They stood quietly as the foul essence in the Force approached rapidly.

"In case things go badly … well, they are surely chasing my scent," she said. "They might leave you alone entirely."

"Well, that is very magnanimous of you, but I would be awful lonely down here without you," said Shemric with more humor than he felt. "Getting eaten by a dog is not a fitting end for any Force user."

"You are an idiot," she said.

"Most likely," he agreed.

"And you have never met my former master, who probably sent these beasts," she said. "I would not mind him being eaten by a dog."

Shemric laughed. There was not much more to say.

He became still more unnerved at the unnatural quietness of their approach. There was no barking or baying to indicate they were nearing their prey, but the Dark-side miasma that hung about them increased.

"Time to play," she said and ignited both her lightsabers.

The comforting green light of his own blade come on as the first beasts rushed up and leaped for Julienne; him they seemed to ignore. He moved in and took advantage of their inattention to bisect one creature as it leaped. The things were long and thin, like racing dogs, with nearly hairless skin and large teeth that the eerie red light of the Sith blades made look like they were covered in blood. Now aware of him, a dog-thing sprang for his throat and he stepped to the side and slashed it directly in the mouth to take off the top of its head.

In the next instant he was hammered in the shoulder and thrown to the ground. A dog leaped for him and he Force-pushed reflexively to keep the thing off of him. The beast flew five meters and slammed into another it is kind. The two things rolled to their feet and turned on each other as a third animal rounded them and leaped at Julienne's back. Shemric hurled his saber and took it in the throat; it squealed once and slammed the Sith apprentice in the back, knocking her to the ground.

Shemric recalled his saber in time to slash another dog, but the animals had backed off and were attempting to outflank the two of them down the hallway. Julienne was on her feet again with her back to one wall and Shemric moved to her left, also putting the concrete at his back.

A quick count showed there were five dogs left and they came again in a rush, attacking in that unnatural silence. He worked his blade furiously, mixing his fighting styles to defend and strike and kick.

A few moments later they were all down. There were no cries of pain from the animals; the only sounds to be heard was the pumping of lungs and exhalation of breaths from the two saber-wielders.

He refrained from asking if she was injured. He had learned that lesson often enough; she had barked at him to leave her alone ever since he had healed her ankle the first time. Surprisingly, she asked him if he had been bitten.

"I do not think so," he began, but she cut him off.

"Get over here," she ordered. "They might have had poisoned fangs or claws." She looked him over and then he returned the favor. Neither of them was bleeding.

"Are we likely to see another pack of these things?" he asked.

"Doubtful," she replied. "My former master used a lot of energy altering them and will not be able to duplicate that effort anytime soon. When he is sure the first effort failed, I doubt he will try again. I suspect he is trying to figure out what he is sensing since we have joined up together."

"Well, I do not know about you, dear Julienne, but I have had about as much fun as I can take from this planet," he said.

"Oh, dear Jedi," she said, nearly perfectly mirroring his sarcasm, "the fun here is far, far from over. Better pull up your britches and tighten your belt because we got a lot more where that came from."

"Nice," he said. "Next time invite someone else on your little adventure."

"Next time?" she said. "I would not bet on there being a next time." She grinned when she said it, but Shemric sensed she believed it.

Whatever they thought, the two of them walked off into the darkness together, leaving behind a mess of mutated dogflesh that even the scavengers refused to eat.

Compared to the dog-fight, none of their creature battles the next day were more than a minor irritation. Repetition bred skill and they carved up the undersurface predators and rakghouls with efficiency and precision. Julienne became annoyed that Shemric stopped and kept a moment's silent vigil over each of the ghouls. When asked, Shemric had said each of them had been a person once, or was the descendant of someone with a family and a life. She had snorted and walked off, but said nothing more.

Apparently even the Sith was not immune to the oppressive dark and she even seemed in the mood to talk that night after they found an abandoned apartment that had two exits, both of which could be barricaded. They chose a center room and turned on a small lamp while they ate, mostly stuff Shemric always carried as emergency rations wherever he went. It was nearly gone having been intended to last him two or three days in a pinch. Shared between the two of them it did not do much to calm the gnawing monster in his stomach. She took what was offered without a word, but her pinched expression showed distaste for having to accept help.

"You are not what I expected, when I imagined a Jedi," she said into the silence.

"Well, I hardly expected the first Sith I meet to be quite so attractive," he said without looking at her. "I imagined you all with your skin falling off and your face melting from all that dark side energy." He looked up then to see if she was amused, angry or humored and her neutral expression told him nothing.

"So I managed to keep you alive against hunting dogs and Sith soldiers and the trait on which you remark is that I am cute?" she said. "How typical."

"Well, I am a boy and I notice girls, even if I am not supposed to," he said. "And you may have your story a bit twisted around, at least the way I recall it."

"You sound confined," she said. "You wish to express yourself in a certain way and your order prevents it."

"No, my good sense prevents it," he said. "It just happens to be frowned upon by other Jedi. That hardly matters since they have been frowning at me since I showed up on Coruscant the first time." She did not ask the obvious question, so he went on. "I arrived at age twelve, about six or seven years later than they prefer."

"Better to brainwash your students young," she commented.

"Yeah, something like that," he said. "What about you? Is there not a Sith school on Korriban?"

"You have no idea," she said and the look on her face did not indicate fond memories. "Korriban is mostly a wasteland; I went there when I was seven," she said.

"Were your parents happy about that?" he asked.

"What does it matter if they were happy about it," she barked. He raised an eyebrow and kept silent. Perhaps she would share. "They resisted. They were fools."

"Fools to not want their daughter taken away?" he said. "That sounds like good parenting to me."

"They had been hiding me for several years since I started showing signs of Force-sensitivity. The Empire frowns on that sort of traitorous behavior."

"Of course," he said ironically, "one family is not important when the greater glory of the Empire is at stake."

"So why did your parents let you go then?" she said in angry tone. "How was it any different?"

"They sent me because of a Force vision," he said. "They were both Jedi before I was born."

She whistled. "That is a new one on me. Jedi having babies. They must have been popular."

"Oh, not so much," he admitted. "My father was a Knight and my mother his Padawan. He was twelve years older and rather young to take a Padawan, but difficult times and all that. That is all I really know. No one in the Order seemed particularly happy to talk about it. Given their attitude, I was shocked when the Council let me enter training."

"So why did they?" she asked.

"Because there was a war on, and I know how to use this," he said, touching his lightsaber. "My parents started training me when I was five before I had even imagined they were Jedi. Not with a real lightsaber; it was just a wooden rod or other things, but it was effective enough." It was silent for a while they ate, but to Shem's surprise, Julienne started talking on her own.

"I am not going to tell you how my former master fights because he will expect it, perhaps, and I do not want you doing things based off my words," she said. "I will tell you this. He is very strong in the Dark Side and will try to finish things quickly. He does not jump around like some of you Jedi and he attacks relentlessly until one of you is dead. He will not use lightning on you unless he thinks it will kill you in one fatal attack. I have never been able to watch him while he fought multiple opponents. I cannot really offer much help. All alone he would crush me in about a minute." She sat quietly for a moment before admitting. "You might last a bit longer."

"We better be good then, because you are my ride off this rock," said Shem.

"Yeah, with a lot of luck," she admitted.

"So far, so good," he replied.

She snorted and shook her head. "At least your outlook is optimistic." She studied him for a few moments. "I did not notice before that your hair was brown. I guess you have been wearing that helmet this entire time." Shem was not sure why she commented it at that moment, but then she turned away and said nothing more. She looked so small and vulnerable in the faint light of the small lamp. He wondered how much bravado got her through the training enforced as a Sith apprentice at their academy. No one really took too much notice of females at the Jedi Temple. They were Jedi or Padawans first, women and girls second. He doubted that was the case in a survival-of-the-most-fit sort of environment that the Sith historically encouraged. He supposed that was what they were engaged in with her former master; time would tell who survived and who did not.

Neither of them noticed anything unusual that night and the third day of their alliance "dawned" much as every other day did, with a few beams of light breaking through occasional battle damage. Their food was gone and all of these levels must have been scoured clean by the survivors of the bombardment before they starved or moved elsewhere. Neither of them could see themselves eating anything they killed, so they trudged off with empty stomachs and sour thoughts. Fighting a Sith Lord on short rations seemed a very bad idea to Shem.

Julienne claimed she could sense her master and he had not moved in some time.

"He is waiting for us," she said.

"Us?"said Shem. "Do you think he can sense me as well?"

Shemric was well accustomed to her various snorts, expressions and derisive comments so her next one passed over like all the others. "To a Sith, you are out there like a splinter in one's finger; sometimes you forget it's there but then you sense it again when you go to pick something up. He can tell I am here and will put two and two together."

"Wonderful," he mumbled to himself. He wondered if the Sith would hunt him down with as much determination as his former apprentice.

"Why would the Sith or the Jedi come here after all these years?" came a voice from the shadows.

How someone could have snuck up on either of them was a mystery, but they both spun to face a rugged looking man, who stood with his back against the closest wall. In the dim light of their lamp, they saw he was holding a military-grade assault rifle and was wearing body armor that looked worn but in good repair. The weapon was not pointed at them and Julienne did not ignite her saber, for which Shemric was thankful; he doubted the man would have been happy to see a red Sith blade.

"How are there inhabitants on this planet?" asked Shem. It has been abandoned for hundreds of years."

"We were shipwrecked," said the man, "and no one bothered to come looking."

"That is not why we came,either," said Shem. "I came here for another reason."

"This one stinks of the Dark Side," said the man, pointing at Julienne, "and you smell like a Jedi. How is it that you travel together?"

"A matter of necessity," said Shem. He was surprised that the Sith had not jumped in with a caustic comment. Perhaps she sensed something very odd here. When he focused, Shemric could sense the man in the Force, but it was a very faint sign, disproportionately small for a human.

"Speak of this necessity and we may aid you," said the man, "…or kill you."

With effort, Shemric could tell that they had been surrounded. Once he knew how to look the others were actually much easier to sense that the first man. Several of them were certainly not human, either.

"My master was killed two days ago and I have no way off this planet," he began. "Her master has betrayed her and she is marked for death. Perhaps together we may slay him and escape this place."

"And you trust her?" said a woman's voice off to their left. "That is foolish, Jedi boy."

"Yes, well, she had not let me down yet," he said. "My options are quite limited."

"So she would kill him for survival and you for revenge," said the first man.

"Not revenge," said Shem. "Also survival. And he is a Sith Lord and likely hunting us. We will meet eventually, I suspect."

The man nodded to himself as if confirming something.

"Our chief wishes to speak with you; perhaps one of you, perhaps both, I do not know," said the man. "Do you wish to come?"

"Are you giving us a choice?" said Julienne, speaking at last.

"Of course," said the man. "We saw the carnage of the devil dogs. The two of you are quite formidable and we would lose many of our number in an attempt to force you."

"We will come then," said Shem. Julienne appeared agitated, but kept quiet. They fell in step with the group and began walking at quick pace through the ruined husk of an underground city. They kept moving for the better part of two hours and Shemric could sense Julienne's frustration at the delay, but since they had moved in roughly the same direction the duo had been traveling anyway, he imagined that she was letting it play out.

Rahghouls generally left the group alone and they walked for a further hour before Shemric sensed a rather large concentration of beings ahead. They passed several sentries before being ushered into an area of the city that looked populated. At least, it smelled of people living there though none of them was out and about in the corridors as they passed through several sets of heavy doors.

They were finally ushered into a small room that appeared part office, part living area. The Kel Dor seated in the single, large carved wooden chair regarded them in the low light as if he was trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Leave them with me, Joran," he said.

The rest of their escort murmured amongst themselves before shuffling out, except for the leader, probably the man, Joran.

"Sir, they are Sith or Jedi, or maybe one of each," he said. "I do not like this."

"I'll be fine, Joran," said the Kel Dorian. "They are but younglings, no matter how formidable."

Julienne snorted quietly, but said nothing. The Kel Dorian apparently heard because his smile toward her was both alert and amused. When the others had left, he directed his comments to Julienne. "You will learn, young Sith, that age and appearance do not necessarily prevent one from being dangerous." Having said that, he reached out a hand and the girl's lightsabers moved under her cloak and flew through the air to land on the table next to the Kel Dorian 's chair. Shemric had had a firm grip on his, so it shifted but then lay still.

Julienne hissed and extended her hand toward her sabers but they did not budge.

The Kel Dorian raised an eyebrow at her until she quit straining and stood back with her arms crossed.

"Tell me, young Jedi, what brings you here and in the company of such a lovely young lady?" said the man. This time Julienne did not hide her loud sniff at all.

"I was sent here by the Council at the bequest of the Republic to search for information that was supposed to be quite important," said Shem. "It was, unfortunately, a trap, and my Master was killed." Shemric almost managed to say this without a hitch in his voice, but on the last word it broke a bit.

"I am sorry for your late Master, boy," said the man, and he felt like he meant it. "Would you mind telling me how the two of you met?" His nod indicated Julienne, who glared at Shemric but continued to keep quiet.

"Part of the trap was intended to kill his own apprentice, so the building where I was searching for information and where our lovelySith here was waiting for me, was targeted by fighters. We managed to escape. Since then we have been helping each other survive."

"To what end?" asked the Kel Dorian. "You seem to be making your way underground back towards the center of the city."

"My former _Master_ ," and Julienne imbued the word with all sorts of scorn, "Is still up there waiting for something, maybe me. We are going to kill him and take the Infiltrator to leave this forsaken planet."

"It _has_ been forsaken," said the man quickly and now he finally showed a bit of emotion. "Between the Sith and the Republic it was bombed back to the Primitive Age and when we were marooned here we were forced to live like animals." He took a breath to get his anger under control and Julienne went on.

"Why bring us here? What did you hope to find out?"

"I like to know about anything curious that goes on either above or below the surface," said the man, his calm veneer returned. "When the Jedi and Sith are fighting a war topside, then it concerns me. Sith, I wish to speak to the Jedi alone. Please wait outside a moment." Her lightsabers flew through the air and she caught them and kept each of them tightly gripped in a fist as she gave Shemric an unreadable look and left.

"There is much confusion in that one," said the Kel Dorian. "She does not wholly take the way of the Sith. You would be wise to be wary of her in whatever arrangement you have made."

"Yes, sir," said Shemric and waited.

The man regarded him as if he was weighing him for an important task. "I wish my people here to be rescued. We live simple lives of survival, but there is little joy to be had. I wish you to take word to the Jedi Council. We have over three hundred survivors scattered in different parts of the city in strongholds like this one. In exchange for their extraction and placement, I will lead the Republic to an extremely large stockpile of munitions and fuel that was not destroyed in the aerial bombardment."

"This planet was never heavily militarized," commented Shem. "It was part of the reason Malak was able to do what he did."

"On a planet with so much below the surface, much can remain hidden," said the man. Still, the fact that everyone they had seen so far had been well-equipped spoke to the truth that they had found something.

"You should know that it is unlikely that I will be able to escape this place to warn anyone," said Shem. "I doubt two apprentices are going to pose much problem for one Dark Master."

"Well, the Force may shine on you and in any case, I have something to help you in your fight," said the man. From behind the desk a bright, clear crystal floated in the air toward Shem, until it stopped in front of him. "Replace your sabre crystal with this and it will help you against your Dark Side opponents when you cross lightsabers."

Trusting the Kel Dorian was a risk but Shemric decided he needed some advantage or else it was not likely to be much of a fight. He took out his own lightsaber and let it rest in the air before him, to be disassembled in the Jedi way. When his green crystal was exposed, he replaced it with the clear one and reversed the process. He pocketed the green crystal with a deep breath. Seeing it brought back the memory of travelling to the secret planet with his master to obtain the crystal and where he had constructed his own saber.

He thumbed the saber's ignitor and a silvery-white blade emerged and shimered in the lowly-lit room. It pulsed in an odd way that his normal blade did not.

"My people will escort you to the place where the Sith landed," said Kel Dorian. "We have prepared food so you will be strong when you arrive. I wish you luck, Shem. My people are depending on your sword arm."

Shemric shook his head. Their hope was feeble if that was the case. Lightsabers were one thing; Shemric had been told often enough that he was one of the best with the weapon that his instructors had ever trained, but he had learned that was only half the battle. Other Jedi could fling about other Force powers that he could not begin to match.

The blade hummed in a comforting manner. "What will it do?" he asked.

"When you are engaged with him it will throw off painful sparks that will bother him but not a light-side user," said the mKel Dorian an. "Against a Master it will be no more than a distraction, but a distraction may be just enough to tip the balance in your favor." Shemric nodded and turned to leave. "May the Force be with you, Shem." Shemric left and walked quietly to Julienne, whose eyes were full of questions.

When they had begun eating, she finally came out and asked about his conversation with the mysterious Kel Dorian.

"He offered help against your Master," said Shemric vaguely. As entranced as he might be by Julienne's pretty eyes, he had no intention of sharing the rest with her. "And he can show us exactly where they are."

"What kind of help?" she asked.

"A special crystal that will spark painfully when it crosses blades with a red saber," he said. He wanted to offer her something so she would not ask about the rest.

"Show me," she said and set down her food. She ignited one of the red sabers she held and raised it toward him. Wanting to find the truth of it for himself, he ignited the odd blade and touched it to hers. He cringed in surprise as white sparks showered them until he jerked his blade back.

Julienne was clearly surprised, but she did not look particularly injured.

"That was very strange," she said. "I have never seen such a thing. I'm not sure how a few lights are going to help us defeat my master."

"I suspect you are not quite so steeped in Dark-side Force usage as to feel them keenly," said Shem. "Hopefully Darth Fright will not like them much."

"He does not like anything much," mumbled Julienne and she resumed eating the meal that had been provided.

The group gave them an empty room and said they would be safe. In the beginning they lay down on opposite sides of the small room, but eventually Julienne came over next to him. "I am cold," was all she said. Then she moved up against his back for warmth and promptly went to sleep. Shemric lay there for quite some time thinking about the oddity of the universe.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When they woke, neither of them acknowledged that anything odd had happened. If anything, Julienne avoided eye contact even more than usual before they set off on the day's hike.

True to their word, the ragtag group of undersurface dwellers led them right out where they had a good view of the landing platform and the Sith Infiltrator. Shemric blinked and shielded his eyes at the brightness after days underground. It had been another full day since they had met the odd survivors and he had lost track of the amount of time they spent underground.

"My Master knows we are here," said Julienne. She was looking down at the platform. "He will be waiting."

"Good luck, then," said the first man they had met back undercity, who had led the escort. "One less Sith Lord is never a bad thing." He smiled at Julienne's frown and then disappeared.

"Well, no sense waiting for him to send someone after us," said Julienne. She began to walk down the mountain of debris toward the foot of the platform. Shemric began to center himself in waking meditation exercises, hoping to find that greater awareness in the Force that he had been tapping into lately. Surprisingly he felt it snap into place and then heard a faint voice, _The Living Force cannot_ be _forced, Shem. Let it guide your actions and then you can guide its path._

Julienne looked like a skinny, teen-aged girl now that they were out in the light, about to face a Sith Lord in all his power. Shemric said a silent prayer to the God of his parents and followed her up the platform steps.

"So, my failed apprentice, you return and with a Jedi for an ally that stinks of goodness and light," said the dark figure who was waiting for them in the shade of the Sith Infiltrator's wing.

"You mistake me, master," said Julienne. "I brought him to you, to do with as you please."

Shemric frowned but did not move or take any sort of defensive stance. He had half-expected this and decided he would come anyway. He could still flee if they both attacked, or fight if she stayed out of the fight. Whatever she said, she held no love for her master.

"So you think this will bring yourself back into my good graces," said the man. "Fine. Then kill him for me and we shall see."

Shemric still refused to move. He could not see the man's face, but a Dark-side miasma rolled off him in waves; he could only imagine how powerful he was.

"I fear he is beyond my skill, master," said Julienne.

A snort of derision from the Sith Lord made Shem's skin crawl. He was glad he had held tightly to his extended Force-awareness before they approached; otherwise he might be shaking in his boots.

The man, if he could still be called that, stepped out from the shadow of the Sith Infiltrator and approached. He was tall, but no taller than Shemric himself, though much broader. He wore no armor but his black clothes and had a long-handled lightsaber in his hand. Shemric was not sure if it was a dual-bladed or not. Most striking was the man's face and hairless head. His skin was cracked and furrowed like a large mud puddle after the rain has been dried away. His eyes look out of sunken pits so black they looked like a silly mask, but the eyes themselves were a horrid yellow color striated with blood-red veins. All in all he looked as horrible as the name Darth Fright suggested, but instead of being terrified, Shemric had to stifle a giggle.

"No wonder they call you Darth Fright; decent people probably run from the sight of your face in terror," said Shemric and then smiled at his own joke. It felt very odd. Part of his mind said he should be running scared; the other part found the state of the man's face pitiable.

Clearly the joke was unexpected. "You think to mock me?" said the man in surprise.

"No, I was simply observing that your face looked like a mud pie I once left on the back step of our home," said Shem. Again, the giggle nearly surfaced. This was insane.

The look on the Sith's face became more horrible, if that was possible. "I would threaten you with all manner of harm, youngling, if I thought you would last long enough to make it worth my while. If your master's skill was any indication, this should only take a minute." The first attack was on him in an instant, red blade meeting Shem's silver blade. Crazy sparks flew off the collision, but they only seemed to harm the Sith, who stepped back with a howl.

Those ghastly eyes regarded him in surprise and then he abruptly stuck out the hand not holding the saber and lightning flew from his fingertips. Shemric caught it on his blade and felt the electricity course through him and ground out. It was a very odd sensation. He was quite happy for the odd crystal the man back in the city had given him.

Now the Sith was looking at him very strangely. "If your master had such surprises up his sleeve, he might have survived; then again, probably not. He was not very skilled at combat. I was not impressed."

"Master Keddis was a skilled negotiator who stopped many conflicts before they ever started," said Shem. They had started to circle and he found the Sith Lord's hesitancy very strange. "He was never known for his martial skills. Do not congratulate yourself too much for defeating him." The Sith's eyes narrowed and Shemric wondered why he had said that. Clearly following the will of the Force never meant things would go logically.

Abruptly the Sith stopped his side pacing and attacked again, the series of blows driven by anger, which pulsed around him like a hot furnace. He answered the Sith with Sorensu, serenity and efficient defense as Shemric calmly met the attacks and deflected them away. Still, not every attack could be misdirected and the ones he had to block were like having someone slam his arm with a hammer. Force met Force and each time the blades met those strange sparks flittered away, stinging the Sith and not bothering Shemric at all. The sparks were about the only thing keeping the fight even.

Shemric sensed the Force push that came next, but could do nothing to deflect it, so he caught the edge of the wave and rode it loosely as he flew backward toward the edge of the platform. Shemric flipped and was about to land lightly when a blast of Force lightning caught him and hurled him off the platform. He found himself howling as his graceful flight turned into a messy landing in a bush that cushioned the impact but shredded the non-armored parts of his uniform and left a slash on his cheek that dribbled blood into his mouth. He supposed that he should have closed the visor on his helmet, but it felt confining.

He came to his feet and considered. He could flee now. He might survive. However, the Jedi Council would not know of the threat here, nor the survivors who could be helped. Somehow, the Force had to see him through this one. He ran at an angle to where he had left the platform and leaped; his landing turned to a roll as sheet lightning passed over him and lifted the hair on his head. The next blast he caught on the saber and it grounded harmlessly a moment before the cracked-face nightmare was on him again, pounding with his saber in broad, two-handed strokes. Makashi would not help here and he settled back into Sorensu again, calmly meeting the onslaught and backing up at a measured pace.

Through the Force, Shemric sensed the older man's fatigue despite the intensity of his attack. The long hours of running the emergency stairways of the Jedi Temple were a blessing to him now as he felt a surge of confidence. The Sith must have sensed it too because he made a hideous sound that must have been a laugh and attempted to blast Shemric with lightning. At that range the Force-driven power of the electricity that coursed down his blade, through his body and into the platform was enough to knock him onto his back. As the red Sith blade descended, Shemric considered that he could not quite make his arm move correctly to block it. The arc of the blade stopped abruptly when it connected with another stream of Force-lightning that knocked the large Sith to the side several feet and down to one knee.

The man's baleful glare was not directed at Shem, but at Julienne who approached with her own lightsaber lit.

"So you wait until I am tired and weak, my useless apprentice," said the man. "Typical. You were never meant for greatness. All those instructors went on about your potential … bah … wasted." He leaped from the crouch then, not at her, but at Shemric who managed to get his feet under him and parry. The next became easier and then the next until he felt somewhat his old self. Just as they practiced, Julienne centered the Dark Lord between them and they began to attack him in turn.

Fright's breath came in wheezes now, but the Dark Force-power he threw at them was terrifying. A twist of his handle and his blade lengthened by half a meter and he used the extra distance to keep them back, but now he was on the defensive. They attacked relentlessly, both scoring burns and cuts on the older man, but twice he blasted them back to give himself breathing room.

They closed on him again, much like they had the many creatures of the underground and then attacked simultaneously. This time the man used something that combined lightning and push powers in a way that shocked them and blasted them off their feet. Shemric rolled and came up crouching, saber in front, but the Sith was headed for Julienne and not him. Exhaustion seized him as he came to his feet and tried to tell his legs to run, but he just stood and shook.

The Sith was driving Julienne back to the edge of the platform and seemed to know his apprentice's weaknesses and was exploiting them. Shem made his legs start moving and then started a pathetic shuffled that gained speed as he felt the Force flow more strongly in him. The Sith snarled when Shem attacked, probably irritated that he had not finished off one opponent before the other managed to return. With Shem joining the fight, Julienne counterattacked and they pressed the Dark Lord until Shem was knocked back with a fist to the face.

The Sith had not attempted any physical attack since the fight had begun so Shem had let down his guard and left an opening. He staggered back with blood streaming from his face and fell over on his back, expecting the worst. However, the Sith ignored him and attacked Julienne again until he drove her to her knees. He saw the Sith's blade rise and could think of nothing but to throw his own saber like a spear. He thought it had worked as the silver blade flashed towards the dark man's back, but at the last moment Fright leaped aside and rolled to his feet to meet Shem's eyes. Death stared him in the face and it came as no surprise when a blast of lightning knocked Shemric back down as he had been struggling to rise. His muscles contracted involuntarily and he came to rest on his side, oddly enough looking across the surface of the landing platform to meet Julienne's eyes. It was hard to say if there was regret or just pain there, but his time of wondering ended when he was jerked off his feet.

Somehow seeing that repugnant face close up made it worse, and the Sith's breath smelled like sulfur and decay. The man's grip on Shem's collar choked him, but instead of killing Shem, he spoke.

"I find you to be a worthy opponent, youngling," said the Sith. "With a little training I could make something of you. How would you like to be my new apprentice? I find my current one something of a failure."

A last tremor shook Shemric and then he flexed his hand to see if it was working. Had the man just killed him, Shemric could not have stopped him, but now the Sith monster had brought his enemy within striking range. Shemric slid his small wrist knife out of its sheath and drove it under the man's chin. The Sith died before surprise or anything else could register on his face and Shemric crumpled to the ground and stared at the blue-green sky for long moments before attempting to roll over.

Walking took a supreme effort, but he managed to stagger over and kneel next to Julienne. She was lying with her eyes closed and he put a finger to her throat to check for a pulse. It was slightly fast but strong and she reached up and gripped his hand with a moan.

"I …do not think … that went … very well," she said. She rolled off her side to look up at him. "How is it that you are alive and him dead? I saw you throw your blade and him blast you with lightning. That was silly. The throwing part." That seemed to exhaust her store of words.

"He picked me up and asked if I wanted to be his new apprentice," said Shem. "He brought me in close and I killed him with a hidden knife from a wrist sheath." She closed her eyes and blew out a deep breath.

"So now I have you to thank for being alive … again," she said. "This is intolerable."

Shemric barked out laughter and staggered to sit down awkwardly. His brain was having a hard time giving his body orders. "You still have to fly me off this planet. Then we will be even again."

"We will never be even," she groaned and tried to sit up. "You will keep getting me in trouble and then claiming you had to save me from it." She managed hands and knees and then pushed herself up. "We need to move. Who knows what orders Fright left for his people. A single trooper with a pistol could take us both."

"Speak for yourself," he said. Shemric stood with considerable effort. "Maybe two troopers with pistols." She grunted and almost smiled before starting to stagger over to the Sith Infiltrator. She keyed in the entry code and laughed when the door slid open.

"He did not even change the code," she mumbled. "I wish I could have laughed in his face just once before he died." The Sith ship was twice as large in the hull as a Penetrator and functioned as a private craft for many Sith Lords. It had two piloting seats but could be flown by one person and was more heavily armed than a Penetrator while being less maneuverable. The main cabin held bunks for four and seats for two and was just tall enough for Shemric to walk, though just barely. Julienne sat and efficiently brought the craft's engines up to speed.

They took off without anyone questioning them and then circled once; Julienne targeted her former master's body and burned it to a laser-charred crisp. One more pass and only a dark stain was left on the landing platform. Shemric thought it odd but her face did not show any signs of satisfaction; it was just a mess to be cleaned.

She piloted the ship smoothly out of the planet's atmosphere and for the first time in days, Shemric sat back and relaxed. For the moment, he was safe and not in danger of anything but Julienne's caustic tongue. That release of tension led to him thinking about the mission and ultimately back to the loss of his master. Keddis had taken him when none other would have anything to do with an overaged, unwanted youngling who made other Jedi uncomfortable.

He was not yet a Knight, but more than a Padawan it seemed. He doubted there would be a long line of Masters ready to take on someone like him. He focused and let all his doubts flow out of him until he was completely calm. Whatever happened, he was still Shemric Norm and his parents' son. If they kicked him out of the Order, then he could always go back and find his family. He had no intention of going off to serve in some obscure Jedi service industry.

He sensed their transition to Lightspeed and felt Julienne making her way back to his position.

"Well, we are on our way to Bonadan," she said. "You should not have any issues finding a ride back to the Core from there."

He nodded thanks. He would have to figure something out. He certainly did not have money for passage to anywhere.

"I have a medkit here," she offered as she pulled a trunk down from a shelf where it was attached. "Let's see what we have wrong with us." She told him to remove his armor and robes and prodded him until he obeyed. He had several burn marks on his arms and side that she could not help so she pulled his shirt over his head against his protests. She was not particularly gentle, nor was she rougher than she needed to be.

"No wonder I could not catch you running up those stairs," she said. "You are all skin and bones wrapped up with a little muscle here and there." Shemric immediately felt overly self-conscious, but he met her eyes and her smile completely disarmed him. She really was quite pretty and her dark eyes reflected his own image back at him. She reached across and put her hand on his arm in a completely different way. Her touch felt hot on his cool skin and he shivered once without being able to look away. "Thank you," she said. That was all. He held her eyes until she looked away in embarrassment. It was not a very Sith-like thing to do.

To his surprise then, she began removing her own robes until she had stripped down to a black, skin-tight bra top and compression shorts, whereupon she shooed him off the bed and began to direct him where she needed patching. She seemed quite calm about it, but several times she made sarcastic comments that seemed to betray how nervous she was. She, too, had a number of saber burns as well as plenty of scrapes that took some time to clean and cover. Eventually, he managed to finish, but his face felt red and hot.

"That was nicely done," she said. "I admire your focus." She still wore that smile like she was laughing inside.

Shemric found that he had thumped with his back against the cramped bulkhead, but that still did not put him out of her arm's reach and she tugged him by the belt until his thighs bumped against hers as she sat on the edge of the med-bunk.

"Does not the gallant prince get to claim his kiss from the damsel he so fearlessly saved?" she asked in a quiet voice. Her hand snaked up his arm, behind his neck until she grasped his hair and pulled his face down toward hers. Shemric felt oddly out of the body like it was happening to another person until their lips met and new sensations he had never imagined assaulted his senses.

Their hands and arms moved of their own accord, touching. Shemric felt like a bumbling fool, but sensednervousness in Julienne that he suspected meant she was no more experienced at this than he. A few moments more and they both came up for breath, staring at each other and breathing hard. Without a word they shared a look and as if by some Force connection or just an understanding of the other's feelings, they stopped abruptly, looked away and then parted quickly. Shemric grabbed his shirt, robes and escaped to sit in the cockpit and watch the stars fly by in hyperspace.

As he sat and thought, part of him regretted stopping and part of him was glad. When Julienne finally came forward to sit next to him quietly in the other piloting seat, she acted as if she was checking on their progress, but then she stopped and sat, mirroring his solitude.

She was the one who finally broke the silence.

"I am not going to tell you I am sorry," she said. "I have always been a little curious, but the opportunity never really presented itself."

"That was what it was, an opportunity?" he said and then regretted it; he sounded sulky.

She gave him one of her derisive snorts. "Oh, stop. Do not get all offended. You enjoyed that as much as I did and were equally caught up in the moment."

"Then why did you stop?" he asked in a more neutral voice.

"Because I realized it would have meant more to you than it did to me," she said. "I was curious; you were ... more emotionally involved. You have feelings for me."

"I see," he said and in a way he respected her more because it meant she had been selfless and not taken advantage of their odd situation to satisfy her curiosity. It stung a little for her to recognize that he had feelings for her that she did not return, but he knew he was being overly romantic about things that were just not there, and impossible if they were.

She nodded as if he had said this all out loud and continued. "Do not be too offended. It is not that I feel nothing for you. I respect you a great deal. You are not what I thought I would find when I first met a Jedi. Your motivations are not simplistic and you are not an idiot. You have given me much to consider."

"So come back to Coruscant with me," he blurted.

She chuckled and he started to bristle before she laid a hand on his arm. "I'm not ready to give up all for which I have worked on an infatuation with a Jedi who is supposed to be my enemy. I would rather we part as friends, Shem. I have not had one of those since I was taken from my home."

Shemric looked over in surprise. It was the first time she had used his name. For a small moment they regarded each other and a tiny window to her soul opened up and he sensed her extreme loneliness. The moment passed quickly and she moved to withdraw her hand. Shemric quickly covered it with his own.

"It sounds like Sith Academy and Jedi Temple are similar in at least one way," he said. "I have many acquaintances, a few mentors but no friends there either."

She met his eyes again and nodded.

The stars passed by at faster-than-light but neither of them noticed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Bonadan was at the very end of the Hydian Way and had numerous major spaceports from which to transfer. Julienne had picked the one noted for the most passenger transfers and set down among hundreds of other private ships.

"And are the Sith so common here that no one is going to notice your ship?" asked Shem.

She snorted. "Nobody cares out here. Profit is all that matters to these people. This is the Corporate Sector."

Shemric had nothing to pack, so he was surprised when Julienne reappeared dressed in more or less normal attire and handed him some non-descript clothes.

"Sith are more common than Jedi here, but I do not want to look like either one, so change," she said.

He nodded and did his best to make the generic bodysuit fit. They trudged off into the massive spaceport looking like two under aged workers. After asking a couple of questions, they ended up in a third-hand clothes store where Shemric found some clothes that fit. Julienne found him the cheapest ticket available all the way back to Coruscant with only one transfer at Brentaal and then walked him to his gate and gave him a handful of credits.

Before he could say anything, she kissed him soundly like two lovers soon to be parted for a long separation.

She smirked at the surprised look on his face when she stepped back. "It has been a pleasure meeting you Shemric Norm. I am not sure this makes us quite even, but it is the best I can do for you in exchange for my life several times over."

"How about another kiss?" he blurted without thinking.

She snorted at him but quickly re-engaged and kissed him more thoroughly than the first time. Shemric thought their technique might be improving.

This time though she shoved him back. "Now go on, you incorrigible Jedi boy. And do not force me to cut off your parts the next time I see you."

"Like you could..." he teased.

Her challenging look made him think she was ready to prove it right there, but he did not have his lightsaber anymore. She had told him he would not be able to take it on the ship and it might serve as a trophy to alleviate some of her Sith masters' ire. He knew he could make another and he wanted her to survive her return.

They stood there in the middle of a huge crowd just staring at each other, neither turning to leave. Finally, when his call for boarding came, Shemric turned for a moment to look at the boarding ramp and when he turned back she had disappeared into the crowd. He sighed and then started the trip back to home. Or at least to the Jedi Temple.

* * *

The voyage turned out to be less than exciting, though quite slow since she had booked him on an old passenger liner. By the time he set foot down on Coruscant, he was relieved to finally be back. The trip had helped him work out his feelings of loss at his Master's death and begin to formulate plans for his future. He did not know if another would take him on as a Padawan at his age, nearly 18 by then and in theory, still relatively new into his Learning period. It was quite possible he would be put out, but in an age of war, he doubted it would happen that way. The transport operator looked at him with skepticism when he said he did not have the cost of passage to the Temple but was a Jedi Padawan. Only when he lifted the man's lunchbox into the air did he nod quickly and allow Shemric to board.

Walking up the long steps to the Temple doors brought back emotions that surprised Shem. The Temple had never really felt like home but at that moment tears nearly came to his eyes at the familiar sights. At the large, open main doors he entered and walked to the side where there was always an attendant on duty. He reported his name, his intent and surprised the youngling there by requesting to see the Jedi Council. It was not something that very many people requested.

He walked deeper into the temple but did not see anyone he recognized. He reported to the tower elevator that would take him to the higher levels of the temple if the Council wished to see him and was surprised to see one of the actual council members waiting for him, looking anxious. Shemric thought he would have been extremely nervous confronting a Master and member of the Council before his trip to Taris. However, facing rhakghouls, Darkside-created attack dogs, and finally a demented Sith Lord had changed him in several ways.

He bowed when he met Master Lental, a blue-skinned humanoid who had been raised to that position only recently.

"Padawan Norm, it is a pleasure to see you alive; the Council is most interested to hear your report," said Lental.

"Yes, sir," was all he could say. An elevator was being held and they rose quickly with only a few words of condolence when Shemric said that his master had been killed on Taris.

Shemric did admit to a moment of nervousness when he realized that Master Lental was leading him directly into the Council Chamber. Norm reached out to the Force and calmed himself in preparation for what was to come.

Grand Master Zym, nodded, though it was hard to say what he might be thinking behind his Kel Dorian mask, and welcomed him back before wishing him condolences at his late master's passing. He seemed to already know some things. Then he asked Shemric to give a report of his activities.

Buoyed by his new-found connection to the Force, Shemric plunged on, telling his story as fully as possible with only some slight hedging when his relationship with Julienne came up. The council sat quietly without asking any questions until he had completed his entire tale. No one spoke and Shemric thought they might be waiting on the Grand Master to comment first.

"Shemric Norm, I find your actions in this matter to be full of decisiveness, creative thinking, compassion and good judgment," said Zym finally. "Many a Knight could have done much worse in similar circumstances. In addition, I find it hard to believe many Knights would have done better when confronting a Sith Lord, much less their Palawan's." Several of the other masters stirred at this; there were several on the council that had opposed Shemric on numerous occasions. The implication that Shem's actions were worthy of Knightly behavior clearly bothered them. "Please withdraw for a moment while we discuss this matter in private." Again, there was agitation. Several of them appeared to want to question him. "Please stand by in case we have further questions."

Shemric left the chamber and sat outside. Meditation helped calm his mind and when he was called back in he felt ready to answer questions. One of the masters who had not been on his side earlier quickly addressed the first question. It was Master Hoilan, a human male who had always shown Shemric a cold expression or knowing, unpleasant look.

" _Padawan_ Norm," began the man, "several of us disagree with the Grand Master about your decision to confront the Sith Lord. Surely there were other options available to you rather than a direct attack?"

"In speaking with the Sith Apprentice, she noted that I was very easy to pick out from among all the other beings and creatures of Taris," said Shemric carefully. "She described me as a splinter in your finger that you know is there but cannot really remove." Several of the masters smiled at this description. "Had I attempted to steal a ship from the Sith forces, he would have felt me coming thereby provoking a confrontation anyway or perhaps leading to the deaths of soldiers he sent instead."

"Instead you chose to confront a Sith and trust another?" said Hoilan derisively.

"Let us not forget that he proved correct in both cases," said Master Lanoka, a female Togruta.

"Only through sheer luck," said Hoilan.

"Was it luck that he survived that long in a battle against a Sith Lord?" asked Master Pianeta, a Twilek male. "Was it luck that he carried a weapon close at hand that allowed him to take advantage of the Sith Lord's hubris to finish him?"

"Call it what you want, but rewarding the boy for a failed mission is ridiculous," pointed out Hoilan. He had several cronies on the council that nodded but in general the council did not seem to agree.

"Let it go Hoilan, it does your reputation as a Master no good when you carry your petty feud with his father on to the second generation," said Master Lanoka in a calm voice.

"The boy should never have been allowed to start training!" shouted Hoilan, coming to his feet. Lanoka rose slowly and faced him with a look of utter calm.

"On the contrary," she continued, "whether anyone wants to acknowledge it or not, Shemric may be the most talented lightsaber duelist we have seen in a generation..."

Hoilan interrupted her. "Who could not lift a pen with the Force and had such a block as to make him useless!"

"I suspect the block is a thing of the past," said Grand Master Zym. "Can you not sense him in the Force?" The others looked at him and then quieted. Even Hoilan did not speak disrespectfully to the Grand Master. Both masters sat again while Shemric tried to control his expression at the things the others had revealed. "Let the Council remember that we are here to seek more information and so far only one question has been asked of Padawan Norm."

Master Lental filled the silence with another question. "Did these survivors say how they have managed after all this time? After hundreds of years they should have all succumbed to the rhakghoul disease."

"Yes, Master, they were not actually survivors of the initial bombardment," said Shem. "They were a passenger ship that had navigation issues and then were attacked by pirates and left stranded. The best they could do was limp to Taris and then get their population into the safest location possible. They have been there for more than ten years before we met them. I rather suspect they survived because their chief had Force-healing powers. In any case, he felt very strong in the Force. And he was Kel Dorian, Grand Master."

No one in the council spoke for some time and all seemed to be looking to the Grand Master.

"I find myself quite intrigued to meet this person," said the Grand Master. "I think I shall lead the rescue effort." This generated quite a bit of surprise from the other members of the Council and a slight smile from Hoilan. It was not a smile that Shemric liked. "Master Lanoka, I will leave you as the senior member of the Council in my absence. Padawan Norm, you will go and spend some time resting while I make arrangements."

Shemric bowed quickly and then walked slowly out of the council chamber before running off at a good clip. He had no desire to meet Master Hoilan any time soon.

The trip back to Taris was made with a huge Republic fleet of warships. Maybe the promise of a large store of munitions was real or not, but it was a chance worth taking. The small remaining squadron of Sith ships fled quickly when they entered the system. Tagging along on the Grand Master's heels proved to be quite educational. For one thing, he spent a lot of time on the bridge listening to reports and orders given.

When they took a shuttle down to the surface it seemed so surreal compared to their entry only a few weeks ago when his master was still alive. With an escort of Republic soldiers let by the grand master, it did not take them very long to locate a way down and then they simply waited to be contacted.

It took less than two hours once they descended for a patrol to find them and then another hour to meet with the survivors' chief face to face. Only Shemric was allowed in with Zym to witness the strange meeting. After spending some time with the Grand Master, he was beginning to recognize a little of the typical Kel Dorian facial expression and the survivors' chief looked extremely pleased to see them. He immediately stood and rounded his desk to embrace the Grand Master.

"I cannot believe it is you, Dalvin," said the Grand Master. "After so long."

That was how Shemric learned that the mysterious Force user was the current Grand Master's brother who had been lost on a mission over ten years earlier. The evacuation of the survivors went extremely smoothly and it was not until they began the recovery effort for the large munitions store that things went sour. Unfortunately, the Grand Master sent Shemric off with one of the loads of refugees and he missed the Second Battle of Taris and ended up back at the Jedi Temple again.

* * *

The next month of Shem's life was very odd. He was back in the familiar confines of the temple but not really treated like a Padawan. He had apparently earned a certain amount of fame and perhaps seniority but was not yet entitled to the privileges of a Knight. Things did not really get interesting until he was surprised to have Master Ven Zallow find him one day and invite him to the training grounds to spar. Master Zallow had been in the council room when Shemric had spoken, but had not asked any questions nor shown any support for or against Shem.

He said very little as they walked to the training area but when they arrived he introduced the purpose of his request. "I have been asked by the Grand Master to evaluate the extent of your skills and recommend a course of action to him. As such, this will be very demanding of you. Do you feel like this is something you can undertake right now?"

"Yes, sir, I have not begun my daily run so I am still fresh," said Shem, suddenly very nervous. What kind of courses of action were they likely considering? In any case, Master Ven Zallow was known as one of the most capable of the current blade masters and Shemric wondered if that choice was a coincidence.

They went to the training area and checked out the full complement of extra training armor, padded helmets and lightsabers intended to spark and stun. When they squared off in the center of one of the larger arenas no one really noticed anything. Five minutes later that would all change.

"Are you ready, Padawan Shemric?" asked Master Zallow.

"Yes, sir," he replied.

"Then let us begin," said the Jedi Master and came at Shemric with no further warning and crashed on his defenses like a rock slide. Reflexively, Shemric fell into a Force-guided Sorensu and simply did what felt right. The first Force-shove did not catch him off guard but it was too powerful for him to block so he leaped up and rode the wave toward the wall at his back and then rebounded explosively, throwing his saber at Zallow. The Master's eyes widened and he leaped straight up away from the blade right into Shem's flying kick that caught him in the chest and sent him skidding across the room.

When Zallow came to his feet, he wore a small smile and then he was sprinting toward Shemric at incredible speed. Shemric stood without moving and then twisted just slightly to avoid the Master's flying strike. What he could not avoid was the Force-enhanced punch to the gut that sent him sprawling and gasping for air. Zallow slid to a stop and then came at him again in a flashing blur of blue saber that Shemric did his best to keep away. When he had his breath back he switched to Makasi and did his best to attack Zallow's defenses.

As the Jedi Master counterattacked, Shemric felt the Force guide his movements more than ever before and he attacked his stronger opponent with superior speed and quickness, pushing him back to the center of the training area. Both of them were breathing hard, but Shemric thought Zallow looked more winded and he pressed his advantage with lightning-quick attacks that were not particularly strong but required split-second reflexes to block.

The fight turned abruptly when Zen locked sabers on purpose and struck Shemric with his foot to the inside of his thigh. It was not debilitating, but it started cramping as the fight went on and Shemric could not leap away as readily. That meant he had to stand and fight and that gave the Master a great advantage as he hammered against Shem's defense relentlessly.

After one awkward escape, Zallow 'pushed' Shemric with a strong blast of the Force. Rather than riding it out, Shemric felt the Force currents and somehow absorbed the strength of the push. For a fraction of a moment, he felt like he was bursting with energy and he needed to act, so he used the pent up energy to leap directly at Zallow and hammer a tremendous overhand blow down on the other's saber. The master was knocked sprawling to the ground and Shemric attempted to pursue before his leg cramped so hard his knee buckled and he crumpled awkward to the ground. It seemed to take forever to right himself back to his feet and he came up at nearly the same time Zallow did.

The Jedi Master raised his hand, extinguished his lightsaber and approached Shem. He seemed to be mumbling to himself. "I am too old for this kriffing nonsense," Shemric thought he heard. The master had a concerned look on his face when he stopped. "Are you well, Shem? I may have been a bit overzealous with that kick to the thigh. I am sorry."

"I am sure I will be sore tomorrow, sir," said Shem.

"Well, have it checked in medical," said the master. "Now, I have to ask you what you just did there. I have never seen anyone absorb or disperse or whatever it was that you did with that Force-push. You looked like you were on your last gasp and then suddenly you are leaping at me with a hammer strike that like to have broken my arm."

"Uh, well, I do not really know," said Shem. "There have been times when I seem to be able to redirect the Force energy sent at me and use it to my own advantage."

"Well, it is very curious and I would like to learn more," he said. "In any case, I am quite sure I have enough information to make a recommendation to the Grand Master. Well fought today, Shemric Norm. You will not be the only one that is sore tomorrow."

Zallow shook his hand and it occurred to Shemric that the Jedi Master had not called him a boy or youngling once after their bout. When Shemric turned to go to medical he started at how quiet the arena was. And they had a very large audience. His face turned red as he realized nearly everyone in the training area had stopped to watch and were now staring directly at him. He ducked his head and limped off as quickly as possible in the direction of medical.

He spent the next half-hour receiving treatment for a bruised groin muscle, but at least he could walk when he left. It was now late morning and he was quite hungry, so he went straight to the mess hall and loaded up his tray before finding an out of the way seat. Wherever he went the talk died down to a buzz as he passed and it was extremely uncomfortable. Finally, he saw a familiar face, a Padawan to Jedi Master Ullian who had been friends with Master Keddis. Her name was Wren and she was a 15-year-old human.

"Can I sit with you Wren?" he asked quietly.

She looked up in surprise. "Of course, Shem, I am happy to see you alive and am sorry about Master Keddis. Master Ullian said he was always a good friend."

He mumbled something and then began to eat without much attempt at speaking. Since Wren was nearly finished, she started up the conversation.

"So the rumor is going around that you captured a Sith Lord, fought off his apprentice and discovered a lost civilization," she said sweetly. "I told them all that was silly. I would be happy to tell them what really happened … "

Shem smiled and tried to decide if he was more interested in having the truth know or more annoyed that everyone was speculating. He finally decided the truth would suffice and as the Council had not told him to keep quiet, there was no harm in doing so. Padawan Wren seemed more than happy to sit and listen to the entire tale and that was how the story started to circulate among his peers.

After the training session with Master Zallow, Shemric was pretty much left to his own devices. It seemed very odd for a day or so not to have someone to follow in the Jedi Temple or classes to attend and at first, he enjoyed the relaxation. However, free time soon became sitting around and he felt … well, useless, and more than a little bored so he decided to create his own course of study. He made himself a daily regimen that included morning meditation, lightsaber training with whomever he could find and then spent a full three hours studying and doing research in the library. He searched on numerous topics of which he was curious and learned a great deal about healing, the Planet of Tarsis, the long-running conflict with the Sith, the many ways the Force could be used to enhance physical characteristics and many other subjects that often piqued his interest when he was searching for something else entirely.

Before eating lunch he would run up the entire flight of steps from the bottom to the top of the temple, take the elevator down and then do it one more time. After lunch he met with Master Killanin, the resident Jedi Master expert for lightsaber construction. Master Killanin always welcomed visitors as she claimed most Jedi took little interest in construction once they had passed their trials and created their own saber.

"If you let the Force guide, my youngling— you create a weapon that fits the hand and person to make better your," she came together with her fingers, "to the Living Force." Master Killanin was a female wookie who had learned basic words and phrases in Common but most often communicated with her hands in clever demonstrations.

On this day, Killanin was assembling a lightsaber from its component parts that were spread throughout the room. "Watch," she said. Her personal workshop was a chaotic mix of parts and old cast-offs and experimental weapons. In an instant, she brought all the various components together and suddenly the saber blazed blue in the middle of the room. In another instant, the light was extinguished and the parts flew across the room to various locations.

"But why would you need to use that?" he inquired.

She growled at him and then cocked her head. "Unarmed," she said, holding out her empty hand. "Now weapon," she said as she recombined the components to her saber and held it in her hand.

He nodded and asked if he could try it himself.

"Focus on group, not individual," she said and broke the saber into components and slowly returned them to the niches of the workroom. "You have?"

"I think so," said Shem. He tried to bring them back together quickly but Killanin held up her hand. "Slow, first time," she said. He nodded. When he brought them together slowly, he tried to sense the group and their position in the room. Then he brought them together in a flash.

The wookie hooted and clapped him on the back hard enough to make him grunt. "Again," she said. Shemric separated the pieces and sent them to different areas that he chose and then brought them back together. "Again," she said.

He did it over and over again until Killanin let out a whoop. "Very good. Can be useful."

"I will think on this," he said. "I can see how knowing your saber in that detail could be very helpful, especially when you are clandestine, trying to keep your identity secret.  
"Practice," said Killanin.

"I will," he promised.

They also looked at variations on the saber including a pike and staff and she showed him how to construct and power them, how to make them more efficient, how to build things out of scrap parts. It was all techie-geek stuff that you never really had to know as Padawans, but it fascinated Shem, and Killanin was more than happy to spend the time showing him the many things she had learned. He spent afternoons in the workshop and truly enjoyed himself.

Shemric's period of limbo lasted for five weeks until he was approached one day by Master Zym, lately of Taris. It was the first time since their meeting on Taris that he had made any attempt to approach Shemric. Shem stood quickly and bowed out of reflex. "Good morning, Master Zym. May I be of service?"

"Walk with me Shemric," he said and did not wait for Shem to follow. They walked along for several minutes before Master Zym finally spoke. "It seems that you have created an issue for my dear brother, the grand master." When Shemric made to speak he held up a hand. "I do not say this to criticize, but it is an issue nonetheless. He feels deep gratitude for you being the instrument of my rescue, but he also is receiving a great deal of resistance from certain parties to the idea of you being elevated to knight." The master shrugged. "I think it has more to do with political maneuvering than it does your qualifications as a Jedi. Plus, some of the council do not think you have spent sufficient time as a Padawan, despite your age."

Shemric was not particularly surprised by anything that Master Zym said. He was not consequent enough for the council to spend a lot of time discussing unless there were other factors involved. It explained why he had not been given an assignment, dismissed or picked up by another master, assuming there was one willing.

"I am considering taking you on as a Padawan, since I care nothing for the politics and am very grateful myself," said Master Zym. "However, I am old, as you see and will not be able to truly train you in many ways you may need. Personally, I think they should just make you a knight and be done with it, but most will see that as simply rewarding you for doing a personal favor to the Grand Master, whether true or not. They wish to give you no credit at all for leading to the large weapons cache. I find it all rather petty, since I am old and have no time to worry about such things." Master Zym stopped abruptly and looked at Shemric. You could not really see his eyes, but he glanced in Shem's direction. "I can teach you many things, but in this age of war, I cannot provide you with much combat training. That will have to come from others and not all are going to be willing. I will need to arrange something … if you are willing?"

Shemric's mind was racing. Master Zym was quite old but Shem's greatest weakness had nothing to do with lightsaber combat and thus, the offer from Master Zym to train him in other things would be very valuable. "Sir, it would be a privilege to learn from you."

"Well, I was intrigued to see what you would do with your free time and was pleased to see that you spent your time in learning in the library," said Zym. "Plus, Master Killanin and I were Padawans together and she speaks well of your technical skills. In truth, we probably will not spend a lot of time together because you really _should_ be a knight, but mainly I want to work with you on connecting consistently with the Force and becoming a better conduit."

After more discussion, it was agreed that Shemric would study with Master Zym each day in the afternoon, leaving the rest of his time open to continue the things he had already been studying. It became quickly apparent after their first lesson together that Master Zym was determined to break down Shemric's block once and for all. They spent hours in near meditation until Shem was sure he could almost understand Master Zym's thoughts at times.

When he mentioned this, the master nodded. "Very good, Shemric. You have to be very sensitive to be able to glean even the gist of my thoughts. I want you to do something, now. I am going to try and 'send' you a thought. If you understand it, then follow the instruction."

Shemric closed his eyes again and tried to concentrate on Master Zym's aura in the Force. A few moments later he had the impression that his master wanted him to pick up and object off the table without opening his eyes. He felt at the objects on the table and lifted the Jedi Master's tablet into the air as easily as if he had used his hand. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised at the ease of the task and nearly dropped it as a result.

Master Zym made the Kel Dorian equivalent of a laugh. "When you are thinking about it too much it is hard; when you relax, it is easy. Think on that young Shemric. Only your bad habits are holding you back." Master Zym never referred to Shemric as a Padawan, but did take great pleasure in teaching him to stop being blocked by his childhood. Shemric set the tablet down carefully and smiled at the Kel Dor.

"I will work on this, Master Zym," he said. "It seems that greater sensitivity makes all things easier."

"Not all things, but certainly telekinesis and other tools do not have to feel like you are lifting a great weight."

They separated and Shemric went off looking for lunch. Instead, he found Jedi Master Panarch waiting for him. Shem was surprised to see him, as he had been fighting on Balmorra for some time and rarely returned. He was a stark-faced man who hated the Sith for reasons he never shared and he rarely left the fighting.

Shemric bowed. "Master Panarch."

"Walk with me, Padawan Shemric," said the master. He did not seem like a man who liked to stand idle. "The Grand Master has recommended you to me as a possible enlistee in our fight on Balmorra. Master Zym tells me you are a capable fighter and that only silly Jedi internal politics are preventing you from being made a Knight." He walked a number of steps without speaking, but his scowl was message enough. "I care nothing for politics that don't help us defeat the Sith. The Grand Master said he would release you to me, if you wished to go."

Shemric walked on in silence, considering. The fight on Balmorra was hotly contested with many casualties. Some Jedi had gone there and returned, telling stories of the fighting, but only Panarch had stayed for the entire fight.

"What do you imagine I would be doing for you?" asked Shemric.

Panarch responded immediately. "I need a subordinate. Someone who can go and do things when I cannot go myself. My responsibilities have increased to the point where I cannot be everywhere at once. I need to be able to send you to carry out my orders and know they will be followed, but not follow blindly when the situation requires. I need a hard-thinking, clever soldier. Are you him?"

Shemric suddenly wanted very much to be part of the war. As a Padawan he would do very little actual fighting for years yet. This was an opportunity to matter, immediately.

"I can be him, sir," said Shemric. "I would love to have something I do matter. And sooner than five years from now."

Panarch looked at him and smiled, but there was no humor in it. The man did not even speak—he just held out his hand and when Shem took it Panarch nodded. "I very much wondered why the Grand Master would recommend a Padawan to me, Shemric. I have no use for a Padawan and I will not treat you like one."

"Very good, sir," said Shemric.

"Then let's get to work," said Panarch.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5—3653-Balmorra**

Shemric looked down on the broken, bombed-out landscape and felt a surge of guilt at his rescue and soon-to-be-safe return to civilization. There had been scattered rumors of an attack on the capital and the destruction of the Jedi Temple. He had been fighting on Balmorra for months and he did not really wish to leave. His father's final advice came to him as he pondered the question. "My son, remember that you will want to help people and in some cases you will be able, but you cannot save the whole galaxy. You must not feel responsible for every bad thing that happens around you or it will paralyze your ability to act and lead you to despair and disgust with society. That path leads to the Dark Side." He had not understood what his father had meant until that moment. He did not like how he felt at all.

Flashes of blaster fire caught his eye as the drop ship continued to climb slowly under its heavy load of troops. The firefight was intense and judging by the shape of the conflict, it looked like Republic forces were surrounded. He looked to Master Panarch.

"Master, do we know who that is below?" he asked.

The Jedi looked pained as he responded. "It is the 924th Infantry Battalion. They were supposed to cover our retreat to the landing zone, but they were surprised and now we do not have the sufficient dropships or escorts to retrieve them."

Shemric stared for a moment. "Meaning ...?" He was sure he did not like what the master was implying.

"Meaning they are beyond our help," he said.

Shemric could see there was a generally tightening of faces and scowls among the troops standing or sitting in the dropship. All the feelings of helplessness he had been experiencing on departure welled up again and he bit off an angry retort. One did not speak that way to a Master.

"Are you saying we are not going back right now, or ever?" he asked more calmly than he felt.

"I doubt there will be any survivors by the time the Republic could mount a mission and it would only escalate the tensions with the Empire," said Master Panarch.

They were dead men, was what he was saying. Shemric turned back to the window and looked down on the chaos below. An entire battalion left to its own fate. This was not right. He examined his feelings and compared them to his father's advice. He could not save the entire planet's populace, but perhaps he could help the otherwise doomed men below. He turned back to Master Panarch. His Master did not look pleased at all for having left the men to their fate, but he was still just standing there, unmoving.

"I refuse to leave those men, below, sir," he said and pulled his helmet visor down over his eyes. He saluted the injured men on the dropship and then took three steps and leapt out the side-gunner's open window.

The heavily loaded dropship was not moving very quickly but the air still slammed him as he left the protection of the ship. He quickly assumed a freefall position that would let him judge his flight path and began to angle in the direction of the firefight below. His tattered cloak whipped vigorously as he reached terminal velocity and stopped accelerating. Using the cloak as pseudo-wings, he slowed his fall and adjusted his angle again. He must have been about three kilometers up when he jumped and he hoped that elevation would give him enough time to reach the firefight before his altitude was gone. Having made a decision, Shemric felt the guilt and frustration melt away. If he could create a gap in the lines of the enemy, perhaps he could lead the battalion off and escape into the depths of the old city. That really depended on how much the Empire wanted to exterminate them.

Shem's mind worked quickly as he picked the point of heaviest Imperial troop concentration and adjust his body angle further to slow his descent. The battle was approaching with terrifying suddenness as he began to be able to pick out individual troops from both sides. Reaching deep in the Force, he felt the lines of gravity pulling at him and began an instinctual adjustment of the air particles to soften his landing. He had never particularly liked flying or jumping out of ships, and he had certainly never jumped out of a perfectly good dropship from that height either. As the rubble-strewn cityscape approached, he instinctually compressed the air further and further until he landed solidly on broken pavement. Without thought, he released the compressed air in a certain way that blasted Sith soldiers off their feet and overturned a small troop vehicle. His spectacular entrance had stunned his surrounding enemies and gave him a few moments of respite while he picked an attack point.

He Force-leapt to the nearest concentration of soldiers and engaged the Sith Berserkers that were the first to turn their heavy, metal swords on him. They were certainly not as skilled as other Sith he had fought and they fell one after another, rage and hate seething off of them in near-palpable waves. Shemric jumped again to the top of a large pile of concrete and picked his next point, a heavy blaster emplacement. As he continued to attack points on the line, he felt the Republic forces begin to move in his direction and soon he was joined by a captain whose name plate said Janicek. Shemric pulled him behind rubble from a collapsed parking structure for a hasty conference.

"I do not have further orders, captain," he responded. "Republic forces were overwhelmed and there are not enough dropships to come for you."

"So what, we have to wait for a return mission? We won't last that long," he shouted back.

"There may not be a return mission," said Shem. "This was supposed to be covert and now it has blown up to a major skirmish. The Republic is not going to escalate it further."

The captain looked stunned. "So we are dead," he said. He shook his head in denial. "Where did you come from then?"

"I was part of the original mission," he said. "It was a trap from the start, meant to lure us here in some fashion. I do not know. I saw you were in trouble and came to help."

The captain registered this and then offered his hand. "Well, Master Jedi, I appreciate the effort, but unless you have a plan, you just showed up in time to die."

"Actually, if we can break out of their perimeter and move deeper into the city, I think we can reach the lower levels and hide. At least they will not be able to use their heavier weapons and armor."

"And then, what?" Janicek asked.

"We stay alive a day longer and hope for a miracle," shouted Shem. The captain regarded him for a few moments and shook his head. His face did not show much hope. Finally though, he closed his helmet visor and saluted. "

"Lead the way, sir," he said."It may just be delaying the inevitable, but dying right now is worse than maybe dying tomorrow."

Shemric nodded and closed his own visor. He leaped to the top of his pile and surveyed the situation before giving the captain a cardinal direction. Shemric looked for the point in the Imperial line where the greatest concentration of fire was originating and leaped off to engage.

* * *

Shemric ducked behind a large concrete barrier and felt the impact of laser cannon rounds burst over his head. His clothes and armor were looking scorched and his lightsaber was clipped to his belt after the grip started pulsing. He had never, ever had it run out of power before, but then, he had never used it so continuously as he had during the past few weeks. It would not be that hard to recharge, but he did not have the time at the moment.

Shemric rolled as far from the rapidly heating portion of the barrier and popped up to fire off several shots at the cannon with the laser rifle he had taken from a dead Republic soldier. The bolts splashed ineffectually of the heavy weapons shield and it ponderously began to swing his direction again. He and the squad with him were pinned down and losing men from several hoverships that had been strafing them. He leaped up and ran toward where he had recently met the most senior commander. He felt the rubble behind him explode and he hurdled yet another pile of debris. When he came to a stop he found Commander Neord waiting.

"We are stuck here, sir," said the officer. "Every time we make a move to cross the plaza their hoverships spray the area with fire and rockets. We have about ten minutes before the troops chasing us catch up. At that point, we will be surrounded. And that is if the heavy laser they set up does not fry us."

"Do we have any shoulder mounted anti-air missiles?" Shemric asked.

"All we have left is some tank busting missiles, but they are really for a ground target," said the commander. "You would have to have all kinds of luck to hit something in the air."

Shemric thought that might be their best hope, but he had no idea if he could guide something like that in flight. He had to try or they would be pinned down again. "Bring a team to me, Commander; I'll see if I can help their luck."

In a few minutes, Commander Neord returned with two men and an innocuous looking tube. The weapon was a small, but heavy-looking shoulder-mounted launcher and Shemric had his doubts. "Ok, let's move up and wait until one of them makes a run at us."

"Sir, we can guide it a little, but we will be sitting ducks because the guidance system is line-of-sight," said the soldier.

"Do not worry about that," he responded to the man. "Pop it off when I say and then get under cover." Shemric crouched on one knee behind a concrete slab and waited until one of the hovercraft came back for another pass. The pilot was getting bolder and appeared confident its armor could deal with the small-arms fire. Shemric tried to slip into a Force trance, praying his skill would not let him down. Initially, he felt nothing and then suddenly the airship popped into his sense and he felt it closing. "Okaaaay … now!" The soldier fired the round and the back blast kicked up dust, highlighting their position. The missile streaked away, but the pilot saw it and bank hard. Shemric could hear the talk around him but he ignored it as he tried to curve the missile's flight.

"Nice shot, Gunner."

"Man, you might hit him!"

"No, he's banking; it's gonna miss!"

Shemric tried to imagine the missile and airship coming together as they flew in parallel trajectories for an instant. The air ship came out of its dive and kicked in afterburners and suddenly it seemed as bright as the sun and he nudged the missile over hard. Its fuel ran out and he lost sense of it, but a moment later a spectacular explosion lit up the sky and then everyone around his was cheering and pounding him on the back.

Shemric sat down, exhausted and a man offered him some energy drink which he gladly chugged. Commander Neord already had the men moving and two more missile teams set up to fire at the remaining airship. Cowed by its partners fall, the other ship remained high up and further away which allowed them to cross the plaza and enter the huge shopping center where Shemric and Julienne had found the rent in the cityscape.

Shemric hoped it was their ticket downward and into cover.

"Sir, it looks like they have decided to leave us alone for now," said Captain Janicek. Shem had been gratified to see that he had survived the day's fighting.

"So we managed to survive that day you were talking about and now we have to worry about what to do the day after," said Shem.

"I suppose so, sir," said the captain. The man was quiet for a few moments before continuing. "Sir, I have a girl back on Alderaan. It has been off and on, but I've been thinking that I may resign my commission and go ask her to marry me. Thanks to you, I still have a chance to do that. All the boys do."

"Well, it seemed wrong, you know, leaving you there," said Shem. "I just, well, I did not think on it very long, but I do not think I could have slept well knowing you were all going to be left to die. I know you have to make those decisions in war, but it just seemed like a bad precedent to set."

"I still think our chances of survival are fairly low here, sir," said Janicek.

"They are," agreed Shem. "Either way, we need to keep moving and find a place we can spend the night."

"I'll get them moving, sir," said the captain. "And report to Commander Neord."

"Ok, I'm off to scout," said Shem.

The next few days were exhausting and surprising at the same time. The native populace welcomed them and helped to hide them even going so far as to share food and supplies. When it became clear that Shemric and Neord were calling the shots, they were brought to a man who claimed to be a Balmorran resistance fighter. He said the Republic soldiers were welcome to join if they wished to continue the fight.

The resistance fighters were a ragged lot, but they welcomed the increase to their numbers, as they saw it, and that led to a meeting with the leader. Commander Neord had adopted Shemric as his commander despite the older man's obvious experience and so the two of them had gone to meet with the secretive head of the resistance, which was hidden in the mountains north of the city in a series of caves that had been enlarged and expanded.

Deep in one of the caves, they entered what was obviously an operations center and shook hands with a Zabrak of uncertain age who named himself Saint Jiub. He ushered them back to a separate room and they all sat on crude chairs to face each other.

"So you are the Jedi concerning whom I have received so many reports," he began.

"I suppose so, sir," said Shem.

"You are younger than I expected," said Saint Jiub.

"And probably much more foolish than you expected," said Shem. "This is Commander Neord, our most senior officer."

"Well, given your abandonment, I am impressed that you managed to survive," said Saint Jiub. "I could use six hundred Republic-trained soldiers in my force."

"You should probably know that the Republic has abandoned this world, at least for the time being," said Shem. Neord was being very quiet.

"Yeah, but do you know why?" asked Saint Jiub.

Shemric shook his head. "And you do?"

Saint Jiub smirked. "The Empire has taken Coruscant. Word is, there have been millions of deaths." He hesitated and something like compassion seemed to cross his face. "And the Jedi temple has been destroyed."

Shemric did not react but he reached out in the Force and _connected_ as he had not since the fighting had been on Balmorra. There was turmoil out there and great pain and death. He believed it. The Temple had never felt like _home_ to him but it had been _a_ home. There had been many kind people there who had taught him. He shook his head. How had the Empire breached the planetary defenses? How had … ? He stopped. For Shem, it did not matter. He was here, not there. He looked up to see Commander Neord and Saint Jiub both watching him.

"What do you hope to accomplish here?" Shem asked the resistance fighter. "The Empire has vast resources and you have a few hundred men and limited weapons."

Saint Jiub snorted. "We are living on a planet known for its weapons manufacturing and you think we have limited weapons? I doubt the Chancellor's Special Guard has as up-to-date weaponry as we have." He watched them for a few more moments before continuing. "We do what we can. Balmorra is our planet and we have been abandoned by the Republic. We do not intend to sit idly to be conquered by the Sith. As for what do we hope to accomplish? We do not intend to give up our world. It is as simple as that. If what we do is futile, well, it is … what we do." He shrugged. "I hear you jumped out of a perfectly good dropship to stay and fight. That makes me trust you right there."

"Can you smuggle our soldiers off-planet?" asked Shem.

"I can," he said. "A few at a time. But the cost is high. I would be willing to trade their help for their eventual escape if that is appealing." Neord frowned and Saint Jiub went on. "Do not take this wrong, but I have very rich, very powerful people that pay for the opportunities I come across to escape. That finances a lot of our fight. I can squeeze in a few soldiers who will not be expecting amazing accommodations … from time to time."

"I think those with families will want to leave, obviously," said Neord to Shem. He met Saint Jiub's eyes for the first time. "They go as soon as possible and the rest of us serve with you until … " he shrugged. Shemric knew what he meant. Until the fight was won. They all knew this fight would never be won.

"Let me be clear about something," said Saint Jiub. "Those who stay are not going to be forced to fight until they have all died. I intend to blend them into the population, just like my people are. They will have the opportunity for families. We have lost a lot of people and there are a lot of broken homes that will need mending. Your people will become my people. No differences between us."

Shemric nodded. It made sense. No one would want to live out their lives in these caves, but if they had the entire population's support then it would be a different life entirely. He knew he intended to stay.

In the end, of the six hundred survivors, nearly two hundred asked to leave. The other four hundred accepted the opportunity to continue the fight. Some of them slipped out of the city a few at a time, smuggled by the Balmorran resistance, and eventually they were hidden in the cave system. Others were moved to waiting areas where they would work until they could be smuggled off the planet. In planning with Saint Jiub, it was decided that the Republic troops would stay together, for the most part, and concentrate on stopping some of the mining operations that fed the weapons industry with the precious metal they needed along with fuel to burn. Neord and Janicek said they were going with Shem and so they found themselves distant from their original fight, hiding, but still hoping to damage the Empire.

It was not perfect, but it was something.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6—3650-Balmorra**

Shemric rubbed his eyes and wondered if it was time for a nap. The Balmorra day was almost twice as long as standard and so it continually messed with one's sleep cycle. Most of the troops had adapted by conforming strictly to their shifts, in most cases 12 hours each, and by having sleeping quarters that would not let in any light. There were times, though when he would get outside of their cavern complex and be surprised it was day or night.

Shem had been on Balmorra for the better part of four years and he was still not used to the long day. The small bell outside his office door rang and he looked up to see Commander Neord enter.

"Sir, our last batch of recruits had an odd woman who came in with them," said Neord. He rarely wasted time on pleasantries and Shem had tried to get them all to stop calling him general, so Neord went straight to the point.

"Odd how?" he asked, looking up from the report on reinforcements he had been studying.

"Well, she looks bedraggled enough, but she also looks very fit," said Neord. "And the other recruits do not really know her at all. All the others that came know at least two or three of the others before they were able to find us, but not her."

"Ok, Neord, send her in; let me see if I can get a better fix on her," said Shem. Extending his senses in the Force, he sensed something that struck him as quite familiar.

"Yes, sir," said the Commander and left. He returned a few minutes later escorting a tall woman who looked rather weather-beaten and tired until she lifted her head and met Shem's eyes.

For Shem's part, he could not stifle the laugh produced by having a Sith warrior walk into his camp to volunteer. Julienne, on the other hand, only widened her eyes in surprise and then dropped her head again. That it was her, Shemric had no doubt, but she was definitely taller and heavier than the skinny girl he remembered. Her long, straggly hair fell in her face, but Shemric could sense her eyes on him behind that curtain of hair. Her clothing was formless and ragged but without sleeves and Shemric understood what the Commander meant when he said she looked fit; though a bit dirty, those arms were toned and strong.

"Something funny, sir?" asked Commander Neord.

"No, Commander; well, not in a humorous sort of way," he replied. "Just in the 'Is not the universe odd?' sort of way. Go ahead and leave her with me, Commander. I'll decide what to do with her."

"Do you know her, sir?" asked the commander sensing something strange.

"Yes, I know her, Commander," he admitted.

His officer looked very uncertain, but nodded and left the room. Shemric reached in one of his pockets and set his sound-dampening device on the table before motioning her to come closer. Each step she took closer to his desk made the bone-weary, homeless persona fall away until Shemric had a tall, proud, self-assured Sith warrior standing a pace from his desk.

Neither of them spoke, as if they were weighing the other on a balance scale. Finally, Shemric broke the silence and tried to cover how nervous he felt with humor.

"You are home late, sweety," he said. "I expected you hours ago."

"Work has been busy lately," she said and walked around the desk without an invitation. Shemric figured this is when she would assassinate him if that was her purpose, but he found he did not really care so he stood to greet her and held out his hand. She ignored it and pulled him close to kiss him firmly on the lips.

It was not a tentative kiss, nor a short one and when they finally broke apart, she sounded a tad breathless, "I'll try to call next time if I am going to be late for dinner."She answered his loud laugh with one of her own and then enveloped him in a crushing hug. She was strong, that was certain.

"Your presence in the Force is very small, Shem," she said. "Have you been learning new tricks since we last met?"

"Well, it has been five years," he said. "And I can barely sense you at all, so it seems like we are both becoming adept at hiding who we are."

"And I should not be surprised you are a leader here on Balmorra, causing my Sith Masters so many headaches," said Julienne.

"And you are the assassin sent her to eliminate me," he said.

She smiled then and dropper her Force screen. He did the same and they both reached out and felt the other's aura or whatever his old masters might have called it. She was much more powerful, but if anything, she seemed to have reached a balance between the different elements of the Force as if she were a blend of the light and the dark.

Shemric probably would have been surprised to discover that his own use of the Force had created in him a balance much the same. Her smile deepened and Shemric sensed something else. She was more than a little pleased to see him.

"I must admit," he said, now returning her smile, "I am not displeased to see you again. So what are we to do?"

She started just slightly, at his reading of her thoughts or feelings, probably. "Oh, I think we can reach an agreement that both sides will find more than acceptable," she said.

Shemric was taken aback somewhat by her sheer physical presence. She exuded confidence, but also sex appeal. Dealing with her would be risky, but her implication was that it would be worth the risk.

"You are correct," she said. "I was sent here to eliminate you, if necessary, or to join you if the conditions were ripe."

"Meaning?" he asked.

"Meaning, if I could get you to trust me, I could create a little more chaos here to the benefit of my Master at the expense of one of the other Council members," she replied.

"Sith political machinations," he said.

"Of course," she said and smiled again. "So, _do_ you trust me?"

"I trust you to be Sith and seek your own gain," he said.

"Excellent," she said. "Then will I be joining you?"

"Unless you have a lightsaber hidden somewhere on your person and you are ready to proceed with your assassination attempt," he said.

"No, but you are more than welcome to search my person," she said. There was a hint of teasing in her voice as if she would welcome such a search. When his face turned red, she laughed loudly. "Besides, I underestimated you last time we met and you turned out to be quite deadly. I would not want to try and kill you unless I was sure I would succeed." She winked. "The facial hair suits you," she said. "You do not look quite so gaunt."

Shemric ran a hand over his chin; it had been several days since he shaved and it was rough and stubbly.

"Well, it comes in patchy and the beard looks silly," he said. "You look well," he said. "Other than needing a bath." In truth, he was powerfully attracted to her. Before she had been a strong-willed, arrogant girl but now she was fully a woman and seemed even more comfortable in her own skin.

"So what do you intend to do with me?" she asked.

"I need good scouts," he said. "When I really need to learn something, I generally go by myself, but my officers hate that, so now I have a viable alternative."

"Your men are going to wonder why you are putting your trust in a newcomer," she said.

"Not at all," he said. "I intend to tell them you are an old … acquaintance. One whom I trust with my life."

"That's touching," she said. "But how are you going to explain that an old acquaintance just happened to come looking for you here on Balmorra? And what if _your_ superior starts asking you questions?"

"I do trust you with my life. As for my boss, well, we do not really communicate much these days. He works his fight and I, mine. He has his hands full near the capital."

"The legendary Saint Jiub?" she said. He looked at her and neither confirmed nor denied the name. "We hear things," she said, "but he is like a ghost and no amount of money can get us close to him."

"Does that mean I was the next best thing?" asked Shem.

"Sort of," she said. "We heard things about you, too, and that is why I was sent. You, we thought we might be able to find."

"That makes sense," said Shem. "I am not quite as paranoid as he is. And I could never spend my life in a cave. Well, I will have Commander Neord get you outfitted, situated and then report back to me."

"Just like that?" she said.

"Just like that," he said.

She stood looking at him for a few moments. "You know I am going to do something you do not like before this is over?"

"I assumed so," he said.

"Then why?" she asked. She was still standing close enough that he could smell her and he met her eyes, searching for something to explain his actions. Finally, he chuckled at her consternation. "Because, for the last three years I've just been existing. As soon as I saw you walk in, I knew my life just became much more interesting. For that, I'm willing to put up with a little betrayal and backstabbing."

She gave him a very serious look. "You know I would never stab you in the back," she said.

Shemric searched her expression for a moment trying to gauge the message.

"Of course not," he said. "If you stab me, you will want to look me in the eyes when you do it," he said quietly.

"Exactly," she said, and her smile was chilling and inviting at the same time.

"Fair enough, Julienne," he said. "Let the games begin."

Shemric used the Force to ring a bell by the door and Commander Neord entered quickly and with his hand on his sidearm. Upon seeing them standing calmly, he relaxed and stopped.

"Commander Neord, Julienne has volunteered to be my personal scout," he began. "Please take her and get her the gear she needs for that mission. Also, as such, she has complete access to my person day and night as need be." He turned back to Julienne. "What name did you give them when you arrived?"

"Call me Juli," she said.

"Juli it is then," Shemric said. "Commander, normally the Scouts have been given the rank of sergeant, but in this case, we are going to make her a lieutenant. However, she takes orders from me, but she does not give orders to anyone unless I have expressly assigned it for a specific time and mission."

Commander Neord frowned. He did not like things that varied from the normal military routine and this definitely fell in that category. Shemric did not want to explain that he was trying to protect the men from any of Julienne's schemes. The good Commander would just have to live with the uncertainty.

"Once you are equipped, come back and see me and we will get to work," he said.

"Yes, sir," said Julienne with a little too much enthusiasm. Commander Neord bristled at the tone, but Shemric met his eyes and shook his head slightly. The Commander nodded and turned to leave. Julienne winked and followed him out of the room.

Try as he might, Shemric could not concentrate on studying the maps anymore. He piled all his information and notes in the center of his desk, locked his door and went looking for something to eat that had not been freeze-dried.

After what passed for dinner in their underground complex and a rather extensive walking tour of the area, Shemric returned to his office to find Julienne waiting for him. She was actually sitting by the door with her eyes closed and had he not sensed her in the Force, she would not have been easy to spot in the low light. She stood smoothly and met his eyes.

"You look like an assassin; are you sure you have not changed your mind?" he said pleasantly. She had dressed in a black, skin-tight bodysuit of non-reflective material with a utility belt at her waist that accentuated her many curves. It was the normal base layer the scouts wore before donning light body armor. Her long hair was now pulled back into a bun at the back of her head. Now that he was standing up, he realized she had grown a good ten centimeters and though she was not quite his height, she was certainly more … well, womanly was about the best description he could give.

She smiled at the comment. "I have been one, among other things, but I doubt that is the way _you_ want to use me." Something in her tone gave that statement multiple meanings as well.

He shook his head. Just in that one statement, he knew there were lots of things about her that was going to bother him and yet, he did not seem to care. "Come on in, then. Have you eaten?"

"Yes," she said, following him in the room. "Some of the rumors flying around the room made it hard to not break out laughing while I ate."

"Well that is not likely to change, especially after it gets around that you report only to me," he said. "Compared to the truth, I'm sure their rumors are quite benign."

Shemric pulled up a chair and motioned for Julienne to sit in another.

"So," he began, "I imagine that you were sent here by the Empire to get rid of our troublesome little army?"

"Well, more specifically the troublesome little army's troublesome little leader," she said.

"Ahh, well, that poses a problem for you," he said.

"Perhaps," she said. "Or perhaps not."

"So, barring a little duel here in my chamber, what do you plan on doing about your orders?" he asked.

"I was volunteered by my Master because I have a certain flair for … covert operations," she explained. "I am supposed to learn what can be learned and eliminate the rebel leader if that was possible and seemed prudent. However, my Master is also seeking to discredit the council member who is directly responsible for mining and shipping raw materials off-planet or to the weapons manufacturing facilities. So, I win either way. If I help you disrupt the mining operations, it helps my Master."

"So our plans run parallel to each other for a time," he said.

"I have no intention of trying to kill you, if that is what you are wondering," she said. "I have done a bit of research on you and though I was surprised it was you, specifically, I was not surprised it was a Jedi running things here. When I hear about a commander with unsurpassed battle skills and more than a little luck, I generally suspect the Force is involved."

"How did you know to find us here?" he asked.

"This is the fifth base I have tried to volunteer," she said. "When it became apparent that the leader was not located with the other units, I slunk away quietly and tried another location."

He nodded. That made sense. He did his best to move around amongst his different units, but this base was by far the largest and most strategically located.

"Well, unless you are too tired, I intend to go out and wreak a bit of havoc tonight," he said.

That surprised her. "Really? Just you and I?"

"Yes," he said.

"Excellent," she said.

"If you go straight out the main gate and travel about a klick down the road to the mines, you will find an old abandoned farmhouse with a barn," he said. "I will meet you there in an hour."

"Are we hiking to the mines on foot?" she asked.

"No, I will have a transport from there," he said.

She rose quickly and her eyes sparkled with delight.

"See you there, then," she said.

As she left, Shemric noted that she had not even asked him what sort of equipment she might need. Well, let us just see what she brings.

He began to dress in his own night gear which was similar material if much more loose and flowing. He had remarked a number of times when he left that he looked quite Sith-like when he went out scouting.

Shem's office had three exits, but only one door. He had picked the room for its accessibility to the open air through a trap door in the rafters and another he had excavated himself that led to an extensive underground tunnel system that tied into the sewers.

Last of all he pulled on his hood, goggles, then his gloves and pulled on a small pack. The eight meter leap to the roof gave him access to the small door and he crawled out into the dark night and cast out his senses to find the sentries in the area. More than one time he had snuck up on them sleeping, playing cards or the like. Since those incidents he had not caught a one slacking on the job.

He slid down the dome and leaped quietly to the ground where he began to make his way to the edge of the abandoned ammo depot. There were gaps in the fence that they had left unrepaired so as not to attract too much attention, but each of those gaps had a sentry watching over it directly so he made his way to the easiest place to cross, a small building that was leaning precariously on the fence. It only looked to be in bad repair; in fact, the supports inside had been shored up and there was a heavy laser position inside that could defend a large portion of the camp's perimeter, if necessary. He leaped to the roof of the building and then again to clear the fence before landing without sound outside the camp. He set off at a brisk jog directly away from the camp before turning to parallel the fence line after about three hundred meters. He followed the several clumps of trees to another abandoned building that also looked ready to fall down. This one really was about to collapse, so he entered carefully and located the electric-powered off-road cycle that he used for these little scouting trips. The camp employed several of them for the reconnaissance missions and he removed the fully-charged battery from his pack, pulled off the ratty cloth cover, and inserted it.

Once he was sure it was fully functional, Shemric pushed it outside and started the engine, which emitted a low whine and then came online with a low hum. He flipped on the noise suppression switch and began to roll over the familiar terrain to the barn. When he sensed no one or anything there, he rolled into the open door and turned off the bike to wait. Shemric sat down to meditate and about fifteen minutes later he sensed Julienne approaching.

Had he not been meditating, he doubted that he would have noticed. She had made herself very small in the Force and moved almost without sound as she slid inside the barn door.

"If you were thinking to lure me outside the camp to dispose of me safely away from others, I doubt you could have found a better place," she said in a whisper.

He chuckled softly. "I think you considerably underestimate how much it brightened my day to see you. If one of us intends to end the other, it will not be me." He sat unmoving. She snorted and then remained motionless.

Shemric rose. "Come then; let us get on with the night's business." He mounted the bike and motioned for her to slide on. She did not hesitate to press herself up against his back and he noted she was also wearing the light recon set of armor, as was he.

They rolled on the main road for perhaps thirty kilometers before taking to the forested area that covered the lower foothills of the mountain range where the smallest of the mines was located. They left the bike a few klicks from the mine's perimeter and went on foot until they were about two hundred meters from the fence that surrounded the facility.

"There are sentry posts about every two hundred meters around the perimeter but they do not generally man them all." He handed her a small map and a marker. "We will circle the perimeter in the opposite direction until we meet again. Just mark the boxes on the map where they are using sensors and not people."

She nodded without asking any questions and set off in the direction indicated. He started off at a slow jog, stopping at intervals to sense whether there were live eyes staring outside the camp or a computer with sensors. The material of his suit and armor masked his infrared signature so that it appeared more like that of a small mammal. He moved erratically as well, to throw off the sensors that looked for regular, intelligent movement. It took the better part of two hours before he finally met Julienne again much higher up the mountain and motioned for her to follow him. They climbed for another fifteen minutes before he found a familiar perch in a hollowed out section of a rock.

"Ok, let us see what you have," he said.

She passed him his map and he used a small pen light to see what she had marked. He mentally combined that with his own map and then sat back to ponder the success of an attack on that night. There were several glaring gaps in the sentry coverage, but he had learned not to be too eager after several of their strikes had nearly been wiped out in well-planned counterattacks that had clearly been traps to lure him in at those locations. Since both sides had played their main hands, it had been a subtle game of guessing and luck.

Tonight however, he wanted to hit them hard and there were two locations well away from the obvious gaps that were promising for a two-pronged attack.

"You are trying to decide something, are you not?" whispered Julienne quietly.

"Indeed," he said. They had both put their goggles on their foreheads and he met her eyes. He knew he could trust her markings. She was playing a long game here and he was sure she would not give herself away on the first night.

After the last trap had been sprung, Shemric had ordered an attack the very next evening and while the second attack had not suffered any casualties, it had not accomplished very much either. It had been more for morale of his troops and to unnerve the enemy than anything else. Since then, they had done little more than nibble at the edges with an occasional sniper attack or mortar shot. They had been training hard for two weeks and tonight was a very dark night and thanks to Julienne, he had completed his reconnaissance much earlier than normal. He had never attempted an attack before midnight. Perhaps his guerrilla fighters would catch the Imperials off guard.

Shemric pulled out his sat phone and punched in a number. When someone answered he gave the code words for the attack. "Oscar Papa Fife Mike. Waiting for verification."

"Roger, sir," came the quick reply and Shemric switched his device to receive only. Four minutes later he received a reply.

"This is Tango Seven Bravo, verify One Seven Niner Four Fife."

"Roger TSB, this is OP5M, commence Yellow White Xenon at positions Seven and Tree," he replied.

"Roger OP5M, will call prior to Sierra."

The line went dead and Shemric switched off the phone. It would take a minimum of two hours to set the attack in motion, make the movement and begin. He sat back against the cool wall of the rock and pulled out a water bottle.

"Now we wait," he said.

"I love waiting," said Julienne in a voice that said she clearly did not. She took the spot next to him and did not shy from rubbing shoulders with him.

"Since we have some time, why not tell me how you ended up here," she suggested. "The rumors painted a pretty good picture of recent history, but I am most interested in how you got started."

Shemric thought about it for a moment and decided it hardly mattered. She was either going to try and kill him at the end or not.

"I jumped out of a dropship because we were leaving a whole battalion of troops on the ground," he said. "It … bothered me. Men and women die in war, but this was too casual for my liking. After we escaped the initial pursuit, we went underground, both literally and figuratively. At first we just tried to stay alive. Some melded into the population and some still wanted to fight." That was about as much as he was willing to say. "That was right at the time that you attacked Coruscant. After the treaty was signed, the Republic left us here."

"So what do you think you will accomplish?" she asked.

"I do not know," he said. "We tie up Empire resources. I am not trying to win the war all on my own. I just want to do my part."

"Do you not know; there is not a war anymore," she offered, "maybe that is why you were so happy to see me. You have no focus here. It is difficult to make it seem like it matters."

"So are you going to help me destroy the Empire here on Balmorra," he asked. "That seems counterproductive."

"Not if it advances my Master's cause and thus my own," she said. "Darth Mauvais was told he would receive no more troops for security, so we can squeeze him here."

"But what are _you_ trying to accomplish?" he asked. "A spot on the Council? More Sith secrets? More power?"

Julienne did not answer for a long time.

"I do not really know," she said eventually, "I am just playing the game. I like the game and the contest is worthy unto itself."

Shemric chuckled. "You seem to lack focus," he repeated back to her. "It it difficult to seem like you accomplish anything."

She did not respond and he wondered if it really bothered her. The time slipped by in companionable silence and Shemric found he enjoyed her presence. It was nice having someone not look at him like the boss. That she was Sith should have mattered, but he found that it did not.

After more than ninety minutes, his satphone buzzed. It was just a string of beeps that Shemric recognized as the confirmation that the attack was commencing. He sat relaxed for another fifteen minutes until the fireworks started with a coordinated mortar and heavy laser attack at multiple points on the perimeter. He immediately leaned forward

"Wow, this looks sort of significant," Julienne remarked.

"We have been working toward this raid for months now," he said.

"On the very day I begin work?" she said.

"Pretty much," he said. "If this goes well, we will completely neutralize this facility and force them to increase the production at their other plants."

"This is one of five this size and they have another three or four that are even larger," she said.

"I know, but this is the most vulnerable," he said. "After this, it will get a lot harder."

"I see … well, what we are going to do?" she asked.

"Just watch," he said. "And report anything that might help."

As it turned out, the attack went exactly as planned and the rebels captured the mining facility within less than thirty minutes of fighting and a minimum of casualties. After all personnel had been evacuated and cleared, the munitions experts had rendered the plant inoperable in a tremendous explosion. The rebel forces had faded away and scattered to a dozen different hiding places and their main base for the last eight months would be mostly abandoned for some time after the attack.

Shemric left with Julienne about the same time and made their way back to the cycle and eventually back to base. They were the only two individual who would do so. They changed clothes and entered the above-ground refugee camp before descending to the guarded bunker/cave complex. The rest of the non-combat staff was there and in high spirits as they called out to Shemric and congratulated each other on their success.

Julienne made her way to her assigned room and Shemric went and met with Commander Jaskula to go over the after-action report as much as was possible. By the time the sun came up, Shemric dragged himself off to his room and fell asleep, exhausted but pleased. They had hurt the Imperials this time. Time would tell if Julienne's claim that the Sith Lord in charge would be granted no more troops or equipment was true. If so, they had a real chance to make a difference here.


	7. Chapter 7

As the reports came in over the next few days and the scouts reported the Imperial activity around the destroyed mine, Shemric became more and more convinced that they would need to move operations to another location; the Imps were abandoning this mine for good.

The process of moving their headquarters would take them the better part of two months as they slowly shifted the command some ninety kilometers to the location they had determined would provide their next best target.

During that time, Julienne reported to him daily and they went on patrol together once or twice a week. Julienne was very proper about how she acted in public; never did she address him as anything other than "sir," or "commander" when others were around.

In contrast, her behavior in private was very much the impertinent, headstrong girl he remembered; if anything, she was even surer of herself now and often gave him plenty of advice about his staff officers that the said officers would not have liked to hear.

His officers clearly wondered what went on during their private chats, but none pressed the issue after he told them to drop it. By the end of the second week since the attack, his office had been emptied of supplies and other equipment and he decided to move it all out of the center so he could practice some lightsaber forms. A few days of forms had him wishing for an opponent and so he left a message for Julienne to report to him.

With the desk and other furniture pushed up against the walls, Shemric considered that his 'office' was really quite large. He had picked it hoping to be able to practice his forms here, but inevitably, it had filled up with equipment for storage. Now it would provide plenty of space for what he had in mind. He sat down in the exact middle of the floor, barefoot, wearing only light pants and a loose shirt. Deep in meditation, he heard the slight click of the door and the nearly silent pad of Julienne's feet as if he was standing right next to her. He set the bar in the door using the Force, flicked on the sound suppressor and only opened his eyes when she stopped two paces away.

Her smile was infectious and he returned it gladly. There was a definite sense of anticipation in her expression as if she knew why she was there. He held out a simple lightsaber that floated through the air until she put out a hand to hold and ignite it at the same moment. She did not even grimace at the green blade that emerged.

"The crystal is a special one that will sting and shock but not cut or penetrate," he explained. "I find it quite useful in training." He stood quietly and ignited his own blade.

"Are you not worried that someone will find out what I am?" she asked.

"Oh, my lovely _Juju_ , I find myself worrying less and less with you around," he said. "I am not sure if that is good, but I have missed sparring with a real partner."

Her smile was back and she clipped the lightsaber to her belt before shrugging out of her uniform and then kicking her boots off. "You only get to give me a nickname if you defeat me," she said. She rushed him immediately and Force-leaped at him with tremendous speed, sword coming down hard. He did not even move until she was right on him and he repelled her as violently as he was capable. Her eyes widened in surprise as she was hurled abruptly back. Shemric wondered if he had overdone it but she simply turned the attack into a graceful flip and landed on her feet. She stood without moving for a moment and if anything, her expression seemed even more pleased than before.

When she started toward him the second time, it was a more measured pace and it was his turn to rush her. The swirling maelstrom of blades would have made a spectacular light show had there been anyone else there to witness it.

In the Force, he did not need to think about his movement or reactions and so his detached mind observed that she did not so much wield the Dark Side or the Light as the Force at large—some mixture of the essence of the galaxy that combined both into a powerful engine of movement. It was how he fought as well and why he had sometimes so bothered his Jedi instructors. She was quick and strong and well balanced and he did not have to hold back.

As was his habit, he had begun in Sorensu and her Djem So crashed on his defenses without getting through to touch him. Her expression lost its smile and gained a measure of determination as her attacks continued without effect.

Suddenly, he met her attack solidly and pushed her away before shifting instantly into Makashi and attacking her in return. She gave ground slowly, not as comfortable in defense, and now she was frowning as he pushed her back toward the wall. She snarled when her back bumped into the rough cave surface and she pushed violently with the Force to move him back. He rode the blast and flipped easily until she caught him mid-air with a blast of Force lightning that he was not expecting.

His smooth back flip became a flailing, shock-filled flight that ended with him sliding along the smooth floor to bump hard against the opposite wall. She Force-leaped across the room and met him as he came to his feet. The shock ran down his arms, but he held his ground and kicked out to catch her in the stomach. To his surprise, he was a bit pleased to see the sharp pain in her expression as she staggered back, gasping for breath. He counterattacked and she was barely able to put up a defense as she moved across the room.

He ended it with a sharp flick and her saber flew away to the side. He struck her across the neck and shoulder with a stinging blow. Now shock infused her posture and face as she looked back at him.

"You have changed," she said. It was the first time she had spoken to him without teasing since she had come. Instead of dislike though, that laugh was back, and this time he felt a powerful desire for her. She looked down at her hard, toned stomach. "That may leave a bruise."

"Is my hair smoking?" he asked.

Her smile was inviting. "Maybe a little. I have learned a few tricks myself."

"Indeed," he said and her lightsaber flew across the room to her hand.

"Well, then," she said. "First blood goes to you. Let us see how the next bout goes."

She held the unlit saber for a moment and he sensed her doing something and a moment later a box flew across the room toward him. At the same moment she leaped toward him with her now burning lightsaber. Again, the Force held him without moving until the box and her lightsaber were both about to intersect with his head. He dropped like a stone and rolled into her feet, tripping her. She flailed as the box hit her shoulder and sent her sprawling. Before she had recovered he leaped back at her and kicked the saber out of her hand. She kept rolling and tried to pull it to her but he was quicker and slashed at her exposed hand that was reaching for the weapon.

She hissed and came at him like a cat, scratching and clawing. It was all fury backed by Force-driven speed and strength. He backed quickly and scored a hit on her neck that made her howl, but she stopped.

"I guess I am dead," she said. There was still fire in her eyes, but now there was respect, too and maybe a little admiration. "You _have_ changed."

"So you seem to keep saying," he nodded.

"Well, I like it," she said and her practice blade flew to her hand. "Best three of five?"

"Try to keep up," he said and this time he did not wait, but flew at her in Makashi, engaging her blade with short, quick strikes to keep her off balance. Halfway across the hall, she stopped backing and tried to kick him in the knee. He moved his leg to the inside and hooked her foot to pull her off balance. Instead of fighting the fall, she rolled and slashed at his ankles as she fell, forcing him to leap over her blade.

Instead of leaping away, he Force-pushed himself in the direction of her roll so that he came down on top of her. She tried to push him away, but he still landed on her with an expelling of air from her lungs. He rolled away and let her recover. She was mumbling under her breath and it did not sound complementary. When she stood again, he could feel her anger pulsing and beating opposite it was a cloud of Dark Side power she was summoning.

Shemric closed his eyes and slipped deeper into his Force awareness. When she unleashed a blast of Force-lightning, he reached out a hand and accepted it into him. For just a fraction of a moment he felt like a river of pure power. He thought he could have blasted the walls down or sent a bolt back towards Julienne that would have fried her like an overcooked Nerf-steak. Instead he brought his hands together in a great clap of air that blew Julienne off her feet and sent her flying uncontrollably toward the far wall. Shemric desperately reached out and threw his mattress through the air to absorb the impact. It worked, barely, and she bounced off and fell back to the floor, looking dazed.

He rushed across the room and arrived just as she pushed herself to her hands and knees. Now the look she gave him was unreadable.

"I have never … " she shook her head. "What did you do?"

"Lightning is simply a manifestation of Force-power converted to light energy," he said. "I took it in and converted it to something else."

She crouched there watching him for a few moments. "You are not really a Jedi anymore, are you?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I am not really sure. I mean, the Jedi exist to protect the people of the Republic, and I do that, but I just do not really do it in a way that will make other Jedi very comfortable. They are very regimented."

Julienne snorted loudly. "Regimented … hmmph." She came to her feet a little unsteadily and he reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. He Force-probed her and felt a number of bruises, but fortunately no concussion or other head injuries. Apparently she understood what he was doing and asked, "Well, am I all right?"

"You are going to have a few bruises, Juju," he said.

"I am sure," she said, scowling at him. She had said he could nickname her if he defeated her. "But nothing else?"

"Not that I can tell," he said.

"Good," she said and reached up to pin his hand against her shoulder while pulling and falling backwards. Her move surprised him and they both fell in a tangle from which she quickly gained the upper hand. Shemric had spent a lot of effort on hand-to-hand combat during his time on Balmorra, but this was more wrestling and grappling. He ended up face down on the bed mattress that had hit the wall and fallen to the floor. His left arm was pinned underneath him and his right was twisted painfully to his back as he lay on his side with Julienne on top controlling him by bending his wrist to the point of breaking.

Her breath was very warm in his ear as she leaned down to whisper. "I was beginning to wonder if I was going to beat you at anything," she said. He turned his head to the left so that he could just see her with his peripheral vision. "I should very much like to train with you, Shemric Norm."

"I am too young to take on a Padawan," he said. "Well, actually, I'm not anymore, but I am not even a Knight and you would not make a very good Jedi, anyway."

"Probably not," she said and let go of his arm. He moved awkwardly underneath her until he had turned to meet her eyes. She was still straddling his waist. The expression she was giving him appeared to be one of indecision for a moment. Then her face hardened and she leaned down, pinned his hands, and kissed him. It was an awkward but hungry kiss on her part, not asking permission. His Force-awareness made him hypersensitive to the feel of her skin touching him, the sweaty-salt taste of her lips and the hard muscle pressing against his body. He returned the kiss with enthusiasm. The wrestling that followed did not leave any bruises and was altogether more enjoyable than their first bout.

"We started this last time, too," he said, "and then changed our minds."

"Well, that was a long time ago and neither of us is a child anymore," she whispered and then kissed him again.

What followed was entirely unlike anything Shemric had ever expected to experience. Heightened by his Force-sensitivity of her, every touch prickled things he had never felt before. Neither spoke for some time as they lay together exhausted and when Julienne shivered, Shemric closed his eyes and brought his blanket to drop around her shoulders.

"You are a very nice boy," she said. He looked up in surprise. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. "I am _not_ a nice girl, you know. This will end badly."

"I assumed it would," he said, "from the first moment you walked in here. That only bothers me a little bit right now."

Julienne chuckled mirthlessly and lay her head down on his chest. He put his arms around her and she did not protest.


	8. Chapter 8

To say they slept well that night would have been quite incorrect. When you are unaccustomed to sharing a sleeping space with another, it does not take much to wake one up. Combine that with the mutual attraction they were feeling and it made for a restless night. Julienne thought that Shemric was surprised when she said it was her first time as well.

"Oh, I have seduced men before for information," she admitted to him, "but the most they ever got was a peek." It was fully dark in the large room and they had wrapped up tightly in the other blankets. . Her back was pressed up against his front and he had his arms around her. She was fairly sure her Sith Master would flay her alive if she ever admitted how much she was enjoying the moment. Not that she intended to tell Shem, but she had fought Jedi before and even dispatched a number of them, but not one of them had ever made her question who or what she was. They had been pompous, often overconfident fools fighting an ultimately futile battle against the Empire.

Not so with Shemric. He was humble and capable all at the same time. Fighting him had been like trying to tackle an ocean wave in all its unpredictability and unrestrained power. Just like the first time they met, he was a dichotomy of Jedi restraint and passion to live life. Remarkably, she had not told him one lie since they met again. Part of that was because she had sensed he read her far too well to get away with it, but she also knew he was not going to tell anyone.

"Well, I never really expected to be here," he remarked.

"With me, or anyone?" she asked.

He sniffed once and then hesitated, "Call me a bit odd, but I thought that if it _was_ anyone it _would_ be you," he said, "which is kind of silly when you consider the size of the galaxy and the extremely low chance I would ever see you again."

"Well, if the galaxy operated on chance then you would have been silly, but we two are both driven by other winds," she said. Julienne never spent a lot of time with the old Sith witches to discuss the fates of time, but she had known, somehow, that when someone needed to come to Balmorra, it needed to be her.

"They normally blow in the opposite direction," he remarked.

"It is just the wind; you Jedi just try to assign direction to it," she said.

"Perhaps," admitted, 'but they feel different enough that it seems like there are two directions. Cold water and boiling water are both water, but I am not going to try to drink boiling water."

"You argue like one of the Mystics," she said.

"Well, I did rather enjoy the philosophical discussions in my classes more than most of my fellows," he admitted. Shem was quiet for a few moments and Julienne tried to get a sense of what he was thinking. There was certainly contentment, a large dose of companionship, but also an underlying sense of guilt. She was surprised when he brought it up and then again at its source; she had assumed it would be some Jedi rule against attachment, but that was not it at all.

"Oh, I am sure my parents would be disappointed in me," he admitted. "They stressed to me the importance of waiting."

"Then they would be proud of you," said Julienne. "You waited for five years." He sniffed loudly but did not say anything. Julienne knew that she needed to assuage his guilt or they were never going to get anywhere and he was going to be bad company. "Answer me this question, Shem; how would we get married anyway or formalize the relationship in some way? Who would recognize it? We come as representatives of two different political entities. Whose authority would allow us to exchange vows?" Shem's thoughts were quite clear to her then; he had not really considered that and it did not make him particularly happy. Julienne knew she needed this. Without a physical connection he would be much harder to read and much more difficult to manipulate. She thought he was going to pull away from her and she could not allow that.

"We can do what _we_ decide, Shemric Norm," said Julienne. "I suspect the road ahead of us will be long and difficult and neither one of us is going to be particularly happy about everything that goes on, but I promise you I will travel it to the end with you."

Now Shemric's mind was seething with conflicted thoughts and feelings. "Do you know something?" he asked.

"If I did, I would not tell you," said Julienne. "Future visions are never very reliable. Often enough you end up doing the very things you try to avoid. That answer did not satisfy him at all and she thought he might withdraw again, but instead, he surprised her.

"Since the day we met on Taris, I have never thought of another girl the way I thought about you, Julienne," he said. "Frankly, none of them could compare. Now that I have the grown up version in my arms, I find you even more attractive and I am not even talking about the way you look. I won't even look at anyone else again."

Julienne's low chuckle seemed to offend him. "What?" he asked.

"I think I understand men better than you, Shem," she said. "I am sure you will look at plenty of other women."

"Well, that is all I am going to do," he protested.

"That is good enough for me," she said. "We should probably get moving." It was difficult for Julienne to admit to herself that she would have been happy to lie there all morning with him.

"I know," he agreed, but he did not take his arms away or let her go.

"I _am_ going to come back tonight, you know," she said. "I enjoyed it as much as you did."

"The fighting or the loving?" he said.

"Yes," she replied and when she said no more, he laughed.

"Exactly," he agreed. "My instructors told me I enjoyed the fighting far too much for a Jedi. And for the other, well, nobody talks about it."

"Well, they are not here," she said. "Anymore than my wrinkled Sith instructors are, so I intend to keep doing what I want." She shifted around until she was facing him in the dark and kissed him again. "See you later," she said. "I have work to do."

Julienne slipped out of his arms and out into the cold room's air. She flicked on the lightsaber next to the bed and used it to find her clothes and gear. When she was dressed she went back to see that he had barely moved.

"You are still thinking, are you not?" she asked.

"It is a curse," he said.

"Only for you," she said. "How do you depart when you do not want anyone to notice?"

"Trap door in the roof," he said.

Julienne pulled out a small light and he stood up to take it from her and walked to the middle of the room to point out the spot.

"That will work," she said and fastened her pack around her shoulders before turning back to him and pulling him into her tightly to kiss him. She bit his lip hard enough that he yelped at the same time she grabbed his backside in a familiar way. She let go of him quickly and leaped for the rafters and the small door. A few moments later she was a shadow lost in the dark.

* * *

Her morning patrol went by without incident and she was posted at her lookout when the sun came up. She did not mind the duties Shemric had assigned her as it gave her plenty of time to scout the area to her own advantage. Today, though, she was sitting in her blind and pondering the goings on of the previous night. That she had expected to attempt to seduce Shemric was a given after she had seen the way he watched her. The way it had actually happened had been altogether a surprise.

Julienne supposed it was her Sith training that taught you to respect the strong; she had never expected Shemric to be so competent at fighting. True, he had matched and even exceeded her on their first meeting, but since then she had grown in strength, stamina and cunning in ways that she had not thought he could match. Instead, he had turned out to be untouchable in defense, quick in the attack and quite unpredictable. When he had blasted her after absorbing her Force-lightning she had been completely stunned. After that she had purposely initiated the wrestling to get him close and then began their encounter.

That had been … well, she was not sure how to describe it. It was true that she had seduced men for information, but she had never wanted to go further with any of them. That she had enjoyed the tender cuddling moments as much as the aggressive love play was yet another weakness her Masters and instructors would have used to scoff her to humiliation.

She wondered if what she was feeling was love. Julienne remembered that her mother had told her she loved her many times, and her father, too. She remembered the way they looked at her and each other. When she had been violently ripped away from them, the last thing her mother had said was, 'Remember who you are.' As an eight-year-old child she had been forced to suppress those feelings just to survive the Sith Academy and the harsh conditions there, but Shemric was awakening her to things that were best left buried.

Unfortunately, her mission now hinged on her helping inconvenience Darth Mauvais' plans for this world and its ore production which in turn led to its munitions production. Otherwise her only option was to assassinate Shem, something she knew she was never going to be able to do. Well, she concluded, she was not going to waste any time worrying.

* * *

Shemric had a hard time focusing on planning that day, especially when Julienne's report came in mid-afternoon. She normally reported in person, but had instead filed it like the others today. Whether that was attempt to avoid him or simply avoid embarrassing him in front of his officers he did not know. She often napped through the afternoon to make up sleep from nighttime patrols and he assumed that was why she had sent the report. When he found himself glancing at her report, he noted how she mentioned where she would be that night at a specific time. It was not normal routine and he understood why she sent it instead of delivering it in person; it was an invitation.

Once again, Shemric considered the implications of the relationship and decided that he had done enough to train his officers that they would not miss him all that much. He was more a good-luck talisman to them in many ways than an actual commander. Most of his officers had five to ten years of experience and the non-commissioned officers even more. Much of the planning that went on took place without him present. They were not disrespectful about it; they simply ground out most of the details and then presented him with the plan when they were ready. He often made suggestions and pointed out unconventional ways to adapt and they incorporated it into the strategy. When there was a conflict he almost always gave way to his senior planners' wishes and as a result, no one resented the fact that a Jedi, and one so young, was nominally the ranking leader.

As it concerned the move to their new location, no one really bothered him at all, so he had been free to circulate about the underground base and visit the wounded and help in the menial tasks of loading equipment. The soldiers often said he must have more important work to do and yet they always seemed happy to have Shemric working alongside of them.

To take his mind off Julienne, Shemric went out looking for work that needed to be done and before long he was helping a group of men and women load trucks with the emergency rations that made up a portion of their diet from time to time when they could not get fresh food or they sealed off the base to reduce their activity to imagery satellites. After about an hour of loading the job was finished and he bid farewell to his fellow soldiers and went looking for something to eat.

A bland dinner did not take too long to consume and he popped his head in the Combat Information Center to see if there was anything to be learned. To his surprise, there was only a single female lieutenant there, with a couple of enlisted personnel. Nearly all the computer equipment had been removed.

"Good evening, sir," said Lieutenant Missell. She was a local, one of many who had joined the fight to rid her home world of the Empire. She was unfailingly cheerful and said to sound exactly the same way if she was reporting the weather or passing information in the middle of a battle.

"Are you all that is left, Lt. Missell?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," she replied with a smile. Her bright smile contrasted with the dark brown color of her skin. "The last of the comm stuff went out on trucks last night. I will be staying here to keep the base minimally operational in case we need to use it again."

"Did you volunteer?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," she said and then blushed.

"Something I am missing Lieutenant?" he asked.

"Well, sir, I am pregnant, so I asked to be assigned here for the duration," she said.

That was interesting. Missell had married one of the Republic soldiers and then volunteered. After she had proven very good with comm equipment, they had made her a lieutenant and put her in the CIC.

"Is Jack staying as well?" he asked. If Shemric remembered correctly, her husband was an infantry platoon commander, or maybe a company executive officer.

"No, sir," she said, and her face fell just a bit. "He asked to be assigned to Reconnaissance between here and our new location. That way he can stay in the fight and I still get to see him once in a while."

"Well, that is not too bad then," he said. "Are we going to have a doc on staff here?"

"One of the Corpsman is going to check on me once a week until I am further along and then we will just see what happens," she said.

He reached out his hand. "Congratulations. Remember, Lieutenant, what you do with that child is far more important than what you do with this army."

"I want to do what I can, sir," she said, rising and shaking his hand.

He nodded and moved on, ending up back at his office as it grew dark. He changed into his recon gear and walked out of his door and off the base through the front gate. The night was cool and the slow jog to his cycle warmed him slightly. Once on the bike, he rolled quietly through the area, occasionally checking his position against the post where Julienne would be located. When he came closer, he cast his awareness out wider and could sense nothing, so he rolled wide of the place and stashed his bike in a dark copse of trees.

While still some way away from the old farmhouse set at the crest of a hill, Shemric stopped and decided to try something. He sat in a dark shadow of a rock and reached out to sense if she was there. He shaped it somehow to convey a query, _'Juju, are you there?_ ' He had never tried it before, but he had developed an interesting connection with Julienne that reminded him of his former Master Keddis before he died.

At first, he sensed nothing. The farmhouse and vicinity was empty of more than the simple signs of life. Then there was something. He followed the thread to its source and there she was, very small, but now detectable. He locked onto the feel of her and wondered if she could sense him in the way he was attempting. _'Juju, are you there_?'

All at once he felt like he had been slapped to the side of the head. " _Of course, I am, you dolt. Are you coming or not?_ " It was so clear that his eyes popped open and he completely lost his trance. Then he laughed and jumped to his feet, setting off up the hill at a trot. The front door was missing and the house was in disrepair, but he had come before and knew there was a room on the second floor that allowed for a very good view of the country all the way to the mountains.

The door to that room was intact and it opened without squeaking.

"Nice of you to join me," said Julienne. "What were you trying to do back there?"

"I was just intrigued to see if I could communicate that way," he said. It was dark in the room except for a bit of moonlight. Julienne had turned from the window and set down the binos she had been using to survey the area.

"Well it worked; now, do you really want me speaking in the back of your brain all the time?" she asked.

"I do not mind," he said. "With a little practice it will not sound like you are yelling."

"I hate to tell you this, but your psionic sensitivity is not as developed as mine," she said. "You were the one who was yelling. You may need to work on your focus a bit." She stood regarding him and he could only see about half her face in the moonlight, but her eyes were watching him like she was trying to come to some decision.

"About last night … " she began and Shemric had the suddenly sinking feeling that she was going to tell him it was all a mistake. Some of what he was feeling must have been evident to her because she stopped what she was going to say and chuckled. "Really, did you think I was going to shove you off after that? Hardly, I was going to say that you need to decide what you intend to tell your officers and the rest. I suspect it will be quite obvious to them once we move to the new location that something is going on between us. It would be better that you bring it up and set them straight than make them ask about it. Plus, I do not intend to sneak about forever."

He considered her words and decided she was correct. Better to confirm the rumors than try to deny them. Their small army was unconventional in many ways and Shemric and Commander Neord had allowed a certain amount of fraternization across the ranks as long as the individuals involved were not in the same chain of command. Plus, they had allowed marriages with the local population like Lieutenant Missell.

"I will tell them when we make the move, which is, incidentally, nearly complete," he said.

"I am sure that is fine," she said. "Now, where did we leave off this morning?" she said and let out a low laugh that instantly sent a flash through Shemric. They coupled aggressively on the lonely mattress in the corner of the room and then lay together under the itchy blanket that she had brought with her. When he complained, she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Bring something better next time," she suggested. "Can I ask how things turned out for you after our first encounter on Taris?" he asked.

"Darth Fright had plenty of enemies and a number of them were interested in taking on an apprentice who could survive his ploys and manage to kill him," she said. "It is rather amusing to me that the one Master who I told the truth was the one who took me on."

"So you told him about me?" asked Shem.

"Her," said Julienne.

"Really?" he said in surprise. She had never mentioned that her Master was a woman.

She pinched him, hard, on his buttock and he yelped. "Why should you be so surprised that a woman should be a Sith Lord and aspiring to the Council?"

"Well … I suppose my mother sort of influenced me in that area," he said quietly while he rubbed the place she had pinched. "She was very kind and gentle. It seems the opposite of what you Sith do."

"What do you suppose it is that we do?" she asked him.

"Scheme, maneuver, get rid of the things that stand in your way," he said.

"Not a bad summation," she said. "But we do not going around chopping people up with red lightsabers. Oh, there are those who do, but they are the small-minded and will never get anywhere. My Master tells me that using the Force to force someone is just an excuse for someone who lacks subtlety."

"Does she have a silly name like Fright?" he asked.

"She is Darth Acina, and ambitious does not even begin to describe her," said Julienne.

"I am sure she is lovely," he snorted. "Or not. You are still fairly adept at fighting," he said. "And you are fit, so it is not all spying and hiding."

"The threat of force only works if you can actually back it up when you are challenged," she said.

"Of course," he said. "Some Jedi would be loath to admit it, but we operate under very similar conditions. Maybe not so much the fear and intimidation, but the threat is always there."

"You must not have been a very popular Jedi if you expressed that opinion very often," she said.

"Well, I kept it to myself," he said. "My mother told me something before they sent me to the Jedi Temple. She told me to keep my opinions small and my heart open so that when I actually became a Jedi I would remember the purpose for which the Jedi were created."

"That had to make you a little odd among your peers. The fact that you grew up with a family," she said.

"I was the oldest of four children and they told me they had a vision that I would be a Jedi one day and do much good and be the cause of saving billions of lives. So they sent me to the Temple once they were sure they had taught me enough that I would not lose my way. I did not think the Council was going to allow me to begin the training at such at my age, but the Grand Master spoke on my behalf. I suspected at the time and have since confirmed that he knew and respected both of my parents."

"So you were the old guy in your classes," she said.

"Yeah, always awkward," he admitted. "And since my parents had waited so long before telling me, I had developed a bit of a block. In school athletics I always amazed my coaches but it was always just to the edge of what is humanly possible. It seemed like I was a super-talented kid but it was just slightly Force-enhanced."

"That does not seem to be an issue any more," said Julienne.

"No," he said, "but I am not particularly strong either. I just have a knack for repurposing Force power that people throw at me."

"Like Force lightning," she said, "but it is not automatic. I got you the first time."

"It has to be a conscious effort and even then it does not always work," said Shem.

"Well, I have never seen it before," she said. "Or heard of anyone who could do it."

"Nor had any of my instructors," he admitted. "Most of them were uncomfortable with it; some were intrigued."

They lay quietly for a long time after that. Shemric supposed she was not really 'working' but either of them could sense if someone was in the area. He suspected she was enjoying the companionship quite as much as he was. Near midnight she had to call in to report and he left her then and worked his way back to the base.

Upon returning, he went looking for Commander Neord who was supposed to have returned within a few days of the attack once things were more settled. When Shemric found he had not yet returned, he went looking for his next highest officer who happened to be Captain Janicek.

"Good morning, sir," said the captain, rising. Shemric scowled and Janicek laughed. They had argued about calling him sir before and the captain just ignored him and did it anyway. "I am glad you found me. Commander Neord sent me to report that the move has gone well and about 20 percent of personnel have reported in so far."

"What was the projection?"

"About 20 percent," said the captain. "Our timeline was very conservative to get everyone back both to allay suspicions and plus up the infrastructure for the new folks. We worked almost as much on our exit strategy as we did on the attack."

"Sounds good," said Shem. "Let me know if you need anything. I am just wrapping up packing here and will be along in a week or two. Unless you need anything?"

"No, sir, the plan is going well and the men and women are pretty excited," said Janicek. "Destroying the mine has everyone in a positive state of mind."

"You know that was the softest of the targets, captain," said Shem. "We probably made them mad and we now have collected all the low-hanging fruit. Harvesting any more trees is going to be rough."

"We know that, sir, but there is no sense destroying their morale with that talk," said Janicek. "We won a victory. Even if it was a small one.

"Yes, we did," said Shem. "Now time will tell what it means to us."


	9. Chapter 9

"Sir, would you mind if we could have a word or two," asked Commander Neord when the staff meeting broke up.

Shemric looked at Neord for a moment and nodded. He had been expected this for a while and they may as well get it out in the open. He nodded and motioned for the commander to follow. Many of the soldiers that had stayed on Balmorra had taken wives, girlfriends or lovers in the local population, but for Neord there was only the fight. Rumor had it that he had been sweet on an officer from the fleet that had been killed when the invasion went bad and others claimed he did not like women. Shemric thought the first might be true but the commander was never chatty about his past and that was fine with Shemric. They entered his 'office' which looked much as it had at their previous base. He had simply claimed the largest space not needed for training or storage; it afforded him a place to spar with Julienne without anyone watching. Ostensibly, she had a rack in the main scout barracks, but scouts often kept odd hours and she rarely slept there.

Shemric did keep a desk and a couple of chairs for occasions like this and he actually used it to work but it seemed small in the large space. He invited Neord to sit and opened the conversation. "So you are worried that we have an Imperial agent in our midst…"

Neord's eyebrows climbed before he schooled his expression. "I thought the Jedi did not really read minds, sir."

"No, we do not, but this has been something that has bothered you for some time and you do not like things that you cannot figure out," said Shemric . "So let me confirm your suspicions. Lt. Qa is an Imperial agent."

"Wait! You know this?" he said, half standing before resuming his seat. Shemric did his best to send calming thoughts to his commander.

"She and I met five or six years ago on Taris," Shemric explained. "She tried to kill me, then her master tried to kill both of us and I saved her life. We reached an accommodation and kept each other alive underground until we could make our way back to her ship and her master. We managed to survive the fight with the Sith Lord and she flew me off planet. I did not see her again until she showed up nine months ago."

"And she is a Force-user." It did not sound like a question so Shemric did not bother to nod. "And you already knew she was an Imperial agent. Ok, so would you care to explain what in the Nine Hells of Gamorra you were thinking."

"Her new master sent her to find me and assassinate me," said Shemric. "Then, when she found out who it was, she decided on Plan B, which benefitted her master over others on the Dark Council."

"And what are you going to do if that changes?" asked Neord.

"I suspect there will be a conflict," said Shemric.

Neord shook his head. "Well, then my news is not really going to be any news to you, I suppose."

"What is that?" asked Shemric.

"She went into the city and used an Imperial Communication Center," said Neord.

"You had her followed?" Shemric asked.

"No, I followed her," he said.

Now it was Shemric's turn to shake his head. Neord would not take well to being reminded how dangerous _his_ actions had been. "Well, I will ask her about it when I see her next then. "

Neord gave him a dark look. The commander had fifteen years on Shemric and was the real tactical brain behind operations, but he liked Shemric as a figurehead and generally put on a good act to that effect. Today he was looking rebellious.

"Would you like me to take her and leave, Commander?" he asked directly.

"What do you mean?" asked Neord slowly.

"She will not go on my asking and that means I would have to subdue her and take her off planet," he said. "The question you should ask is the same one I pose quite often—is she benefitting us now more than she is going to harm us in the future? That is what I would love to answer, but cannot. But, of course, my personal feelings in the matter sort of complicate things." He shrugged his shoulders as if to say he could not help himself. That was pretty much the truth where she was concerned.

"You cannot get rid of her _and_ stay with us?" he asked Shemric.

"I do not intend to do that," said Shemric finally. "I will likely leave when I need to remove her off-planet."

Neord nodded eventually. "We will just keep an eye on her, then." He rose to leave.

"You could do everything you do without me, you know?" said Shemric.

"Sure, about the way a doctor can open up a patient with his fingernails," said Neord sourly. "You are my laser scalpel," said Neord.

"Well, it is nice to feel needed," said Shemric. "I need _her_ here to keep my sanity."

"I understand, sir," said Neord and he turned away just as the door to the office cycled open and Julienne strode in. She stopped abruptly. She was not wearing armor and was in fact encased in a skin-tight black outfit that covered all of her but left little to the imagination.

Shemric watched the two of them carefully, hoping to avoid having to step in between an argument. It was Julienne who broke the silence. "Ah, so you have been discussing me?"

"Did you get your message off?" asked Neord. Julienne covered her surprise well but Shemric could sense it.

"I did indeed, Commander, and it is good news for you," she said with a dazzling smile that made Neord stiffen even more. "I gained information on the locations of a heavy weapons storage facility that will be understaffed in the coming weeks. What could you do with some heavy laser cannons, mortars, and rocket and missile launchers?"

"It could destroy a lot of Imperials," he said neutrally. "Are you really sure you want me to do that against your own people?"

Shemric tensed but Julienne only scaled back her smile a bit. Once taken off guard, she would not be surprised again. "It is all part of the bigger plan, Commander; we can only do our part."

Neord brushed past her without further comment and Julienne eyed Shemric narrowly as she strolled over and plopped down in one of the chairs.

"So, the Commander knows, now. How is that going to change things?" Julienne had known she was the topic of conversation before she entered the room. Or at least, she had gleaned enough of the gist of the conversation of Shemric's thoughts that she had not been surprised when they both looked nervous as she entered.

"He is not very comfortable with the arrangement, but I do not believe he will take any action," said Shemric. Julienne lounged on the chair, with one leg over the arm. If she was dressed and acting this way, then she wanted something; that was obvious.

"Am I so easy to read, then?" she asked and Shemric silently cursed himself for not keeping a tighter control on his thoughts. She was much better than he at reading the other's stray ideas.

"I know you more and more each day, Julienne Qa," said Shemric . "Did you have a nice chat with your master?" He was firing in the dark, but when her carriage stiffened, he knew he had hit true.

She only laughed, though, and sat up to regard him more seriously. "You are too clever by half, dear Shemric. But, yes, we had a nice chat. She wishes me to continue my work here on Balmorra. Darth Mauvais is receiving a great deal of grief for his leadership, even though the losses do not seem to be all that significant in the greater scheme. She wants me to up the ante and has provided information that I mentioned to the commander. Heavy weapons, maybe even a small, armed skimmer. "

"Whenever we escalate, we run the risk of bringing more of the attention and therefore the might of the Empire down on our heads," he pointed out.

"If you do not, you run the greater risk of becoming irrelevant," she said.

"Well, I will consider it, as will Neord, no doubt," said Shemric . "Stealing weapons from Imps to turn back on them later will be very appealing to him. He just will not like trusting you to go and steal them."

"We all have to make little sacrifices for the cause," she said. "Look at me, I have had to sleep with the enemy for nine months in order to control the course of events."

He knew she was teasing him, but his overall insecurity about carrying on a relationship with a Sith who might very well be a great actress and not personally attached to him was irritating, no matter what she sometimes claimed to feel for him. He worked very hard to keep that thought to himself but she must have gleaned some of it anyway because she laughed again. Then she stood up and put her hands on her hips and stood in such a way that he lost all train of thought.

Shemric was never very pleased when she did that to him during times he was not particularly happy with her. It felt manipulative on her part, like her seductions would chase all the thoughts out of his head. It made him even angrier that it nearly always worked. He slammed a report down on the table and stood up to give her a piece of his mind, but she just stood there, one eyebrow raised, hands on her hips. He started to say something, stopped, stared and then started again.

Shemric tensed for an attack- Julienne leaping across the desk at him or some such thing-so he was a little surprised when the desk itself rose up and hit him in the face. He shoved it back, but she was no longer there and came in from his right to land a flying kick to his shoulder. He was knocked awkwardly sideways and felt a sharp pain in the elbow when he hit the ground, but she was on top of him, trying to pummel him. He rolled away, but she kicked him in the butt and tried again until he Force-shoved her away long enough for him to roll to his feet.

They went toe to toe, throwing punches and kicking and grappling until he managed to kick her in the stomach; the air whooshed out of her lungs and he got a hold on her from behind. She tried to elbow him in the ribs, but he twisted her wrist until she cried out and relented.

"Are you finished yet?" he whispered in her ear. They were both breathing hard and Shemric's anger made him want to cause her just a little bit of pain.

 _Are you finished complaining, she asked?_

 _I did not say a thing, he retorted._

 _Like you need to speak anymore for me to know what you are thinking, she said. You whine about our relationship too much. It is wearying. I am here and have no intention of trying to kill you._

Later, Julienne was apparently feeling more talkative than normal. It was nearly impossible to keep any thoughts back from her when they were touching, so he did not even try.

She would know how frustrated he was that their relationship was so full of conflict. Sometimes she would comment on his thoughts and others not.

"Conflict is what shapes us as human beings," she said. "If we did not have conflict, we could never resolve it and grow stronger. You do not think that we have both increased the scale of our conflict and grown stronger since we have been together?"

"I have no doubt that we have," said Shemric. "But where is it all going to lead? That is what bothers me."

"Because you spend too much time in the future, wishing for things that may not happen," she said. "Why not just be content with the now?" she asked. He tightened his arms around her. "Exactly," she said. "Hold onto the now, plan for the future, but do not worry about it."

He sighed. "I will try."

"About that other thing," she said. "There is this weapons facility we need to recon."

Shemric could only laugh at her; otherwise he might cry. "We will get to it tomorrow."

She made a very un-Sith-like giggle. "You are such a good boy when you do what I suggest."

"Sometimes I think you like it when I beat you down and humble you," he said.

"I like you when you are not being whiny. If anyone else I have ever met did what you have done to me I would be pissed off and spend my time plotting their downfall, but you are … " she stopped speaking again for a minute. There was a very pensive look on her face. "Losing to you is not like losing." His feelings must have betrayed something because she put a finger over his lips. "Be quiet and listen. At the Academy, losing could be deadly. Showing any weakness could make you a target for the bullies. So you had to put on a show and bluster about to protect yourself. It was worse if you were female. Rape was not uncommon and it was punished severely, but only after the fact and that does not help the poor girl. To some extent, weeding out the weak was encouraged; in their minds, if you could not hold your own against numbers then what would happen to you the first time you were outnumbered in a fight?

"I am sure they lost some promising future Sith Lords that way, but they had numbers to support their training model. You were infuriating the first time we fought, but you did not rub my face in it when you won; you made suggestions on how I could improve. So I learned to try and fail and try again against you because it was a safe environment. However, deep down, the Academy ingrained in me a respect for the strong over the weak."

"So what happens the day you finally begin to defeat me consistently?" he asked. "Will my usefulness to you be at an end? Will you leave?"

"Your usefulness extends beyond your ability to make me a better warrior," she said, chuckling.

Later, before he fell asleep, he lay for a while pondering the fact that she had not answered.

 _Oh, let it go, Shemric_ , she said. _I am tired and you are well satisfied, as am I. Stop worrying about when you think I am going to leave you. Do you think in the five years since we met I could not have found another man—any number of men—to do this? Do you think I did not receive plenty of propositions? I could have and I did, but none of them appealed to me. You want to know why? In the back of my mind, I could not escape the memory of a skinny Jedi boy who saved my life right after I met him, and then three or four more times—despite my hostility. So think about something else and go to sleep_."

So he did and they did.

* * *

As usual, he woke in the pre-dawn hours and left her sleeping in his bed. She very often did not notice his departure and snored through it despite her claim to not snore at all. He sat at his desk and turned the brightness of the projector down so as to not wake her as he poured through the intel she had brought with her. It was quite detailed and Shemric had no doubt it would be an enticing target for his staff once they looked everything over, but he also knew that Neord was going to have to be convinced first. He did not trust 'Lieutenant Qa.'

Well, he would let the staff make the decision and plan the reconnaissance. That it would be him doing it, likely accompanied by Julienne, meant that he could influence the go/no-go on the mission. He knew that Julienne was up to something but the question was—when was it going to cause him problems? He sensed that moment of conflict was not yet, so he forwarded several comments to the staff and sat back for a moment. He sensed movement and thought from the bed and Julienne padded over wrapped in the blanket. She leaned over him and spoke in his ear.

"You wake up too early," she said. "And I do not like the fact that you can sneak away without me knowing it."

"I keep more regular hours and I nearly always wake up around the 5th hour," he said. "You claim that I wake up and think too loud. Which would you have me do? Sneak out of bed or wake you up with worrisome thoughts?"

"You could do something else," she said and he shivered as she ran her lips down his neck.

"Yeah, and when I do that, you complain you were sleeping soundly," he said. "It is a no-win situation for me."

"I guess so," she admitted, "but since they normally hold the staff meeting at the eighth hour then you have nothing to do for two hours, so get back in bed."

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "I guess you are giving the orders now."

"I have always been giving the orders," she said.

He chuckled but figured that she was correct. Once they were snuggled back together under the blanket, she asked if he was going to support her proposal to raid the weapons facility.

"You already persuaded me last night and then thanked me for agreeing afterward; what more do you want?" he asked. "I am going to the staff meeting."

"Yeah, but there are things you _allow_ , and things you actually support," she said. "I sense this is one you are just allowing."

"Are you going to tell me why it is so important to you master?" he asked.

"She wants me to escalate the conflict," said Julienne. "This was the way she suggested."

"And it does not bother you that we are going to harm and destroy Imperial soldiers and assets?" he asked. "All for these Sith machinations of yours."

"I have not been trained to think like you," she said. "Plus, you personally, think about people first and organizations later. I have been trained to think about the good of the Empire. The big picture. If I need to do something, I do not spend a lot of time wondering who is going to be hurt. If this helps my master gain a position on the Dark Council and thereby my chances for advancement, then I will do it. And no, it will not bother me. At the top of my list is the benefit to the Empire. If I think it will benefit the Empire, then I do it."

"Thus freeing you from the moral quagmire in which I often wallow," he mumbled.

"There is nothing wrong with your wallowing," she pointed out. "It provides counterargument for my single-minded focus. Someone has to think about people."

"Just not you," he said.

"Exactly," she agreed.

That vaguely bothered him, but he tried not to let the thought get to Julienne and she did not comment further. He was sometimes surprised how much she enjoyed lying in bed, cuddling. He had teased her about it once and she had not been amused, so he had never brought it up again. He tried to pick up on some of what she was thinking, but she was closed to him, once again showing that she had mastered this mind-link thing better than he had. They must have dozed off, because he awoke with a jerk when Julienne moved against his back.

He checked the time and cursed silently. They had ten minutes before the staff meeting was supposed to begin. He rolled out of bed and went searching for his cleanest uniform, while Julienne stood up and began to pull her hair back.

Shemric had to run and he arrived slightly winded exactly on the hour and walked in with his best neutral expression. They had already taken what he had sent over and were discussing it when he came in, so he simply took a seat and they kept on.

"Because of our attacks along this front and the ongoing operations around Yorkich, this facility has lost about 30 percent of its guard postings," said Captain Herkipp. He was head of the scouts and also doubled as the imagery analyst when necessary.

"As such, they are undermanned to cover the entire perimeter. If we come in here," he pointed with the laser pen, "and here, we can infiltrate and secure the storage area until we have loaded our transports. Then we all get in, open the roof and fly out."

Commander Neord scowled, but if the information was correct, Julienne was not wrong in her assessment as confirmed by satellite images. The facility was reasonably isolated and would not be able receive any help in less than an hour. By that time they could be long gone. The staff began to dissect the map and the other information and the Operations officer took charge of planning. Neord's scowl never left his face but none of the rest of the staff knew why.

"So what did they decide?" asked Julienne when he returned to his office. She was using his makeshift workout equipment that was arranged in a circuit to provide a full body workout.

"They are going to send us to check it out, just as you knew they would," he said, sitting at his desk. He pulled up a map of the continent and then zoomed in the area they would have to cover from their HQ to the depot.

Her grunting continued and he tried not to pay attention, which he managed until she went on the pull-up bar and then he stared for a while before she finished and dropped off.

 _Getting an eyeful,_ she asked?

He shook his head. She was entirely too good at picking up on his thoughts.

 _Umm, those thoughts are not very subtle_ , she said with an amused tone. She still had not even turned around. She had dropped to the ground and was doing crunches.

He looked back at the map and tried to estimate how long it would take to make the trip and what transport they might take. Balmorra was not really a tourist location anymore and the Empire kept a close watch on those moving about in this part of the world. If they were going to avoid any notice, it would probably take two weeks.

"How long do you think it will take to get to the target?" he asked out loud.

"Two weeks, the hard way," she said between crunches. "A week if you want to take public transportation and just blend in."

He frowned. Neither of them looked particularly noteworthy, other than Juju being attractive, but people told Shemric that he had an accent that was not really similar to the people on Balmorra. It would be noticed.

"Since you are suggesting it," he started, "I assume you do not think it would be a big problem. Will we not get stopped and asked for identification? I know you have papers, but mine are pretty thin and traveling together will make it even more iffy."

Julienne stood and walked over to the desk. "When Acina suggested it, I started making a plan. I am just going to use my Sith identification. No one is going to question your presence if I say you are what you are."

"And what am I going to be?" he asked.

"My personal assistant, of course," she said. "It is vague and lacks information. Plus, if we dress you correctly, no one will give you two glances."

"And what if your name pops in the Sith system and 'people' start asking questions about why you are there and what you are doing?" he asked.

"You are just going to have to trust me on this," she said. "I have gone undercover plenty of times. Plus, I am not going to give them my name as Julienne Qa. I have plenty of identities that will work. My name is not going to 'pop.'"

"Ok then, I guess I will trust you," he said. "Now stop leaning over my desk; you just dropped sweat on my reports."

She gave him a level look and then proceeded to wipe her hands over her face before flicking her fingers at him. Droplets showered him and he made a rude sound before they both started laughing.

"You have not worked out today," she said. "You should join me. This will be easier if we can suffer together."

"Yes, ma'am," he said without enthusiasm.

He changed into some workout clothes and joined her on the circuit. First was pull-ups which he always did in descending sets starting with ten and working down. Then on the mat for crunches; right side, middle, left side. From there it was push-ups, then standing again using a long bar to rotate the trunk and work the torso. Then bent over lifts with light weights to work the lower back followed by hops up onto an old desk and then off again. They used a chair to do dips and another bar for bicep curls before back to the pull-up bar to start again. He normally did eight rounds but when Julienne stopped after he had done five he was content to be finished. The room was a bit warm in the early afternoon to work out and so by the end they were both sweating profusely. They sat on the floor and drank water while watching each other without speaking.

 _I never used to do anything like this before_ , she said. _I think it is a good supplement to regular training. Chock it up to another lesson learned from you._

 _I had a few fitness instructors at the Temple who preached this type of workout, but most knights and masters either train or rely on their Force powers. I was always a bit of an oddity when I ran the stairs and did gymnastics work._

 _You_ are _odd._ She smiled at him though _. If you were not so odd, I am sure I would not be here. What other Jedi would have rescued a Sith just after she tried to kill him?_

 _It was worth it, he said, shrugging. Then, and now. Especially now._

 _Do you want to camp out and travel at night or stay in hotels and live large in the city? she asked._

 _I will do what you wish, he said. I think the long trip will be double the short, so probably gone more than a month. I do not believe any of the staff are going to like that. Two weeks will be a lot more appealing._

 _When she first gave me the task, I started planning, so I can be ready to leave in a day or so, she said. I even bought some appropriate clothes._

 _Are we going to go armed, he asked?_

 _I am going to be armed and I have decided I will now fight with two blades, she said. See how that works? My second blade will be yours and it will only be for emergencies. I may dress you as my bodyguard at times, and other times you will be more of a secretary. It will be well._

 _As you keep reminding me, you are giving the orders, he mused._

 _Does it bother you so very much?_ she asked _, to take orders from me. Sometimes I think you just growl for the principal of the thing._

 _No, it does not bother me. You are supremely competent and so why would following you bother me?_

 _I am a woman and a Sith, she pointed out. That would bother some men and just about all Jedi._

 _I guess it helps that I am in love with you,_ he said and shrugged again.

She looked away. Using the word love always discomfited her and so he did not really do it often, but it still slipped out occasionally. He was in love with her and for the very reasons he had just pointed out. She was very good at her work, confident, occasionally humorous, very competitive and thought very quickly on her feet. She was also decisive, did not second-guess herself and even admitted her mistakes on the occasions she made them.

When he had first met her, on Taris, he had immediately noted the attractive Sith apprentice but it was her loneliness that had drawn him to her as they traversed the dark underground of the remains of that place. Shemric would never really be her equal, which was why he was surprised that she had stayed with him so long. He did not really understand it, but he knew that when she left, he would go with her. Not back to the Empire, but he would not be able to stay on Balmorra without her. He was not sure if she had made him a better Jedi, but she had certainly made him a better person.

 _Wow, you are waxing philosophical today, she noted. We are about to spend two weeks together. You should be happy about it._

 _I might be if we were off for a two week vacation, but this will be like two weeks in enemy territory._

 _Not for me, she pointed out._

 _True, he mused._

She threw the towel she had been using to mop her forehead at him. _Worry, worry, worry._

 _One of us needs to worry, he said._

 _Just not all the time,_ she said. It was an old argument and he always lost it.

 _Because it does not help us right now, she said._ When the worried look did not leave his face, she did what she always did when he was worrying. She distracted him.


	10. Chapter 10

The next day they set out from their compound, just two civilian workers headed into Yorkich following a business trip. The staff were actually happy that they were going to be gone the shorter amount of time and started drawing up battle plans using the new equipment. Shemric was glad it would give them something to do while he was gone. Before he left, Commander Neord pulled him aside for a private conversation, one that Shemric had been expecting.

"Sir, we have talked about this before and this escalation could bring down greater Imperial forces onto our heads," he started. "Is that what we want?"

"I guess the question we have to ask is this, 'Do we want to really hurt them, or keep nibbling at the edges?" asked Shemric.

Neord had no answer for that.

"I think we need to prepare for one final Op and then make contingency plans to get everyone off the planet or blended into the population," said Shemric. "I would love for the men to have something grand to finish their time here, but the survivors need to disappear."

Neord nodded but said nothing until he gave Shemric a finally warning about Julienne.

"She plays her own game in this, sir," he said. "It may not be the game you think."

"I am aware, commander," Shemric agreed, "but for now, I think our goals align. If she wanted to destroy us there would be easier ways."

"What if she is luring you away for that very purpose?" asked Neord.

That thought had not occurred to Shemric before. He stood, troubled, for a time and examined all his interaction with Julienne. Was it possible this was her end game? It _was_ possible but he did not believe it. Either she had been lying to him all along and he could not tell the difference, or she was telling the truth now. For Shemric, there was only one possibility he could believe, so he did his best to reassure the commander that he would be back and they should continue planning the raid and the follow-up. Neord nodded but did not look very happy about it. Shemric decided it was the moment to ask the commander the question he had wondered.

"Are you going to stay or go when the time comes, Neord?" he asked.

Neord looked up in surprise and then covered it well. "I had a wife and children once," he said quietly. He was staring off down the corridor. "They were traveling on a commercial space liner to come out and visit me at a forward operating base on Lantilles. There had not been a lot of action of late and some of us had been gone a long time. A Sith fleet attacked as they were inbound. Civilian ships were slaughtered. I have never been home since then." He was quiet again for a time. "I have a place on Anaxes. A home we bought together. It is a mountainous place, but we liked it and we could never afford anything on Coruscant. Maybe I will go back and clean it out."

What was Shemric supposed to say to that? He did not, but reached out and took the commander's shoulder in his hand and gave it a squeeze. The older man looked up and did not quite smile. They parted and Shemric went looking for Julienne.

"Well, did the commander warn you against me?" she asked when he walked in. When he started, she shook her head and went back to packing. "I will take that as a yes." She nodded with her head to his desk. "That is for you, my lovely assistant." He went through the non-descript uniform and shoes. No one would notice him wearing this. Not with Julienne around.

"So we are a go tomorrow?" she said.

He pulled two bus tickets out of his pocket. She came over and took them from him and grimaced. "Overland transportation. That is going to be tedious."

"It is only for a day until we pick up the speed train," he said. "We are traveling a fair distance."

"And we won't assume our Sith identities until then, either," she said. "We will just board separately." She stared at him for a time. "We have not ever spent this much time together, Shem. I guess we will see if we drive each other crazy."

* * *

The bus ride was a tedious as Julienne had feared and only their ability to communicate without speaking broke up the monotony. At one point, a middle-age man who had been in his drink tried to hit on Julienne until she sent him to the back of the bus with a Force-enhanced suggestion. That was the only excitement they had for the entire nine-hour bus ride. They disembarked at the larger city of Yorkich. It was a factory town that received a lot of the raw ore and did partial refining before sending it on to Sobrik. It was also the end of the line for the Imperial Transportation Network which meant for them, it was the beginning.

They changed clothes in an alley that stank of refuse and emerged as Imperial agent and executive assistant. Julienne's dress was not quite a uniform, but it looked impressive as she secured tickets and demanded a private compartment.

 _What was that tantrum all about?_ he asked as he stowed their luggage and sat opposite Julienne in the small, four-person compartment.

 _Just making sure my commanding skills were intact, she said. And I really did not want to share. I would have tried for a sleeping car, but I did not want them to denigrate your reputation._

 _I am fairly sure my reputation is in tatters as it is, he remarked. I may not even be a Jedi when I return._

 _Then you can continue as my assistant, she said. I am sure you will love the Imperial Capital. Or not. It is a sickly, poisoned planet._

 _Sounds lovely, he said._ The train had begun coasting over the flatlands here and rapidly picked up speed until they were moving as fast as a skimmer could have done. That is how they traveled for several days until it was time for them to part again. They had stayed in reasonably nice hotels and eaten well at restaurants as the population became more sophisticated as it neared the capital. They left the train one-day's journey from Sobrik and rented a nice room in a 50-story sky rise that was the nicest building in the town.

As they began to see more and more Imperials, Julienne's personality became more and more severe in public so that it was all that Shem could do to keep from cringing at times. She was haughty, terse and expected everyone to jump to obey the minute she spoke. After a few days, she had Shem trained as well.

 _And you do it so well, my ingratiating servant, she said as she picked up on his thoughts._ She then proceeded to shout at him to take their bags up to the room. He unpacked as he had been trained to do and then swept for bugs, cameras or any other sort of surveillance devices while she made her calls in the lobby. He closed all the curtains tightly and accepted the rollaway bed that she always had delivered to their rooms. Of course, he had never once slept in the temporary bed and was beginning to enjoy the accommodations.

 _Then I shall make you sleep on the floor tonight, weak fool, she said._ She opened the door a moment later and gave him a questioning look. He nodded and she closed it behind her as she entered. _These heels are killing my feet, she said. Into the room, dog, I require a massage!_

He snorted loudly. _You had better be nicer to me than that if you want me to rub your feet._

Her low chuckled nearly always made him shiver when she gave it and this time was no exception. She walked past him and ran a hand along his jaw with her finger before disappearing into the suite's small room. Obeying her was not always onerous. She was laying face down on the bed, her hair splayed out on the sheets and wearing her aforementioned heels.

He stood and stared for a few moments. He knew that she could sense his eyes on her and seemed to enjoy it.

 _Has anyone ever told you that you have a very cute bottom, he asked?_

 _Other than you, twice, actually, she replied. She seemed amused._

 _Did you disembowel them, he asked?_

 _No, neither case required it, she said. There may have been minor dismembering though._

Shem sensed she was not joking and let it go. He crossed to the bed and carefully removed her heels and set them on the dresser. He was sure they were expensive. This had become an almost daily ritual both because she was not acclimated to wearing her business shoes all day. A subtle use of Force-healing enhanced the pressure of his fingers on her arches and toes until she was groaning in pleasure. She had purchased some massage oil after the first day and he used liberal portions to reduce the friction over her skin as he worked his way down her calves. He kneaded her back and shoulders as well, until he could feel waves of contentment rolling off of her. At least twice she had fallen asleep in the process and he had covered her up and let her nap for a bit.

 _I am not sleeping this time, lovely man, she said. And that was wonderful. I am not going out again, tonight. Turn off the lights._

 _Yes, ma'am._

Shemric slept so soundly that it was a surprise when he awoke to see it was the seventh hour of the morning. Julienne was just stirring and she turned toward him and opened her eyes.

"I think we slept in," he pointed out.

"Not to worry," she said. "We will just take a later train. Go shower, first. I am going to sleep another few minutes."

"How do you fall asleep so fast?" he asked.

 _It is a gift, she said. You sleep much better when I am around and wake up feeling better, so you should not be jealous._

He had not really thought about it, but it was true. He _had_ been sleeping better since they had started sleeping together. She was breathing deeply about 20 seconds later and he shook his head and got out of bed. After he was finished in the bathroom, he shook her foot lightly, which was the only approved way of waking her if he did not want her to punch him in the face and apologize later.

 _I know, I know._

He carefully controlled his thoughts as she crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom. She would not welcome them that early in the morning. When she emerged, cleaned, dried and pressed, she looked every bit the Sith functionary again. And every bit as attractive as usual.

"Oh, do not start looking at me like that," she said.

"What do you mean?" he protested.

"You are undressing me with your eyes," she said.

He blinked and realized he had been imagining exactly that. All he could do was shrug sheepishly.

"Are you ready to go out on your own?" she asked.

"I guess we will see," he said.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"And how are you going to do that?" he asked.

 _Let me show you, she said._ In an instant she was inside his mind and he felt her looking out of his eyes. He was not sure if she had ever done it before, but he panicked and tried to force her out. The ensuing chaos was too much for his brain to handle and he passed out.

Shemric had dreamed quite vividly before, but this time he knew it was not a normal dream when he opened his eyes and found himself on a deserted island beach. He looked around and Julienne was lying on a beach chair next to him, sunning.

 _I would apologize, Shem, but … well, I think I may have sort of shut down your brain._

 _That seems unfortunate._

 _Well, I suspect we are breaking new ground here, Shem. Force users can often sense what others are doing but since we became intimate it has reach another level …_ She stood and offered him a hand and they walked that way down the beach.

 _So we are not leaving today?_

 _I called for a late checkout, she said. Your body needs some rest. Feeling sensations and emotions that powerful can exhaust the physical. We are going to have to begin training you to set up psychic shields so that you can defend yourself. Less benign Sith than myself could reach in and turn off your brain in your current state._

 _You mean you have known about this kind of thing all along, he asked?_

 _Of course, do not the Jedi look for those with psionic talents when you are young, she asked?_

 _Not really, he said. Basic 'tricks' to influence minds and stuff like that, but nothing like you seem to be speaking about now, he replied._

 _Well, the more you train in it, the stronger you become, but you are also more vulnerable until you can shield yourself, she said._

It was so strange to be walking along on a beach, hand-in-hand with Julienne, talking about psychic attacks and defenses. The world with Juju was exceedingly strange.

 _You are hardly the only one to depart from the beaten path, Shem, she said. I am a Sith warrior—strolling along on a beach because my lover enjoys it. How is that not really weird?_

 _Well I appreciate your effort on my behalf,_ he said, and gave her his most lascivious leer.

Her ripping snort of humor was out of place in the placid dream where waves lapped peacefully up the beach and bathed their feet. Neither of them spoke for a long time and they continued to walk around the island under a sky that did not change. Finally, they came back to the bungalow and the small pier.

 _That was lovely, he said._

 _You are welcome, she said. I have just about repaired all the connections in your brain so we are nearly done._

 _What was wrong?_ he said, alarmed. The carefully constructed world reeled a bit before resettling.

 _Calm down, it is not a big deal, she said. Fortunately for you, I am very good at this and when I am finished you will have psychic shields that no one will be able to get through._

 _What about you, he asked?_

 _I am already inside, silly, she said. You do not have to let me in. Close your eyes and this transition will be a little less weird._ He did so and then opened them again, blinking at the bright early afternoon light. Julienne lying next to him, looking at him with a smile.

 _Welcome back. I would say that we need to get going, but I am really comfortable. I may have just called the front desk and told them we were staying for another night._

 _Does that mean we can go back to sleep, he asked?_ It was really hard to separate his own sense of satisfaction from Juju's as they lay there together.

 _Does it really matter? You are thinking too much again. Just go to sleep._

 _Are we going to go for a long walk on the beach again, he asked?_

 _NO! I do not get any rest when I have to keep that construct together. Just sleep, she said._

His eyes grew very heavy and he submerged himself in Julienne's sense of self and she took him off into unconsciousness.

* * *

They parted ways the next morning but the connection they had created stayed with them and it seemed that if he looked over his shoulder, Shemric would see Julienne watching him.

 _Keep your mind on the business at hand, said Juju._

Shemric jumped and looked around before he realized it was all in his head. _Do not do that!_ he said.

 _It is hard enough for me to concentrate on two things at once, she said. You need to focus and keep me with you._

 _You are here, are you not, he said?_

 _I am on a train with my eyes closed, she said. When I have to go out and function you will be on your own._

 _I am a big boy, mommy, he said. You do not need to hold my hand._

 _Oh, I know that,_ she said and the wave of amorous sensation stopped him in his tracks. She withdrew so quickly that it felt like he had been doused with water. He started walking again and grumbled at her but she did not respond. He could sense her direction, but little else.

He spent the day on two tedious bus rides where no one wished to speak to him and did not seem to smile much either. Because of his coloring, maybe they assumed he was an Imperial. Either way it was an uneventful trip. He descended from the bus and walked in the direction his electronic device indicated. Perhaps it was because he was watching the small screen that he did not see the Sith police until he was almost upon them. His eyes widened when he looked up and he may have panicked or looked like he panicked because they suddenly eyed him with more interest. He tried to walk by without them noticing by ducking his head and they let him go, but then he sensed one of them starting to follow him. This was not good. He was supposed to walk through the town and disappear into the forest at the other side and he could not very well do that with a tail.

After a few minutes of walking, his stomach growled and Shemric decided to turn into a restaurant that was all lit up on the next corner. It was small and weather-beaten, but the tables and windows were clean, so he took a seat and waited to order. The waiter gave him an odd look but said nothing and he thought the Sith might have decided to leave him alone until the man came in a few minutes later and sat down one bench over from Shem.

When the waitress brought his food, he nodded in appreciation and did not speak. She gave him another odd look but shot a more worried one over his shoulder at the Sith official and then went to take the man's order. Shemric ate quietly and wondered what he would do. He needed to leave the man or else his cover was going to be blown. He did not want to start any sort of manhunt this far from base without backup.

When the waitress came back with a check, he prayed she would not ask any questions and she did not. He offered her a credit chip and she took it and returned with the chip showing a remarkably reduced number. Things were expensive here.

When he got up to leave, the Sith was eating quietly and he thought he might be able to leave freely until the man spoke when Shemric was passing his table.

"You are a man of few words, citizen," he said without looking up. "What is your business in this city?"

Shemric was ostensibly there to deliver a package to someone in town, and he did in fact have a package and an address to deliver it. The problem was that if he opened his mouth, his accent would be noted.

 _Just speak to him._ Juju's voice was a feather's brush against his mind.

 _My accent will not hold up!_

 _Relax your mind. I will speak through you._ Had they not already shared consciousness at such a deep level, Shemric thought he might have found her presence overwhelming if not repulsive. Instead, she just flowed into him and prompted him to speak. When the words came out, it was Shemric who said them, but Juju who altered them.

"Good sir, I am a messenger for J & J freight here to deliver a package," he said. Shem nearly started at the perfect Balmorran accent that came out of his mouth. The man's eyes lifted to his in surprise. That had not been what he had expected to hear. Shemric reached down to his satchel and withdrew the package. It is just a part for an old skimmer, sir, but it is an older model they do not make anymore."

The man looked him up and down and then flicked his fingers in annoyance for Shem to go away. He ducked his head and offered a greeting before departing.

 _That was well done, Shem, with just the right amount of deference, said Julienne. I have to go. See you soon._

She withdrew and Shem followed his personal device GPS again, this time looking up to pay better attention to his surroundings. He delivered the package and then walked to the edge of the small city and off into the woods after dark. The GPS led him to the pack full of things that Julienne had left and he quickly changed and started off up the lower slopes of the mountain on which the small city ended. He was supposed to spend a night in the wild and then cross the mountain and meet Juju on the other side. Near the eleventh hour he found a small hollow with an overhanging rock where he decided to spend the night. He had not heard from Julienne since the incident with the Sith officer and wondered if he should contact her. He decided against it. She said he sounded like he was shouting when he called to her.

He awoke stiff and uncomfortable at first light and became quickly conscious that he was not alone. He sensed … something, and a careful survey showed him that a local animal of a reptilian nature had snuggled up against him for heat in the night. It was recognizable enough with its odd striping and Shem knew it was highly venomous. Lovely. He lay still and attempted to gently prod the creature back to consciousness. It was quite sluggish, but it managed to waddle away on all fours until it was far enough away that he felt comfortable moving. It was a cool morning and he decided to get most of the travel out of the way before it became too hot.

The GPS provided a general sense of direction, but it was never meant as a navigator in rough terrain so Shemric had to backtrack through some places and do his best to find a pass through the mountains. As he gained altitude it cooled even more so that the early afternoon temperature was pleasant as he hiked. He saw small game on occasion and some other creatures that he had encountered before, but no people. Towards mid-afternoon, his hiking became rock jumping and then a few easy cliffs to scale before he reached a summit and looked down on the next valley. He could not see the depot itself, only a high mountain meadow that was completely exposed. If anything came along while he was crossing there would be nowhere to hide.

Rather than risk it, he decided to sit down and eat more of the food concentrate that was in the pack. He picked the shade of a rock that would provide cover and sat thinking for some time. If the reconnaissance on the raid was so complicated, how much harder would it be to actually conduct the raid and get away unseen? It seemed more of a long shot as he pondered the issues until the sun started to go down. When the light had dropped so that visibility was much lower, he started across the meadow in a slow jog, his strides squishing softly into the high mountain grass and patches of lichen. When he was barely two hundred meters out he heard the sound of a skimmer or some kind of craft. He looked around quickly and then sprinted back to the rock where he had been waiting. Under cover, he watched the slow ponderous passage of an old patrol skimmer; it was a model at least forty years old. By mere chance it passed right over him, its flying lights creating a bright sphere on the meadow as it skimmed low over the tree tops.

Shemric shook his head. Either that was good timing on his part or bad. He started off again and crossed the two kilometer space without incident. The rocky climb up the other side was done in the near dark, but once he passed the crest, the light improved as the sun had not yet set on that side of the mountains. When it was full dark, he stopped and sat down to think again. He had not covered nearly as much ground that day as Juju had planned for him. The GPS had him more than fifteen kilometers from their planned link-up point. It was not that late, but he was still fairly high up in the mountains and the rocky terrain would be very awkward in the dark without a flashlight. With a light, he would stick out on the mountainside for a considerable distance.

Of course, that was the moment Julienne decided to contact him. _You do not seem very close. How far out are you?_

 _Probably fifteen klicks, he said. I waited earlier to cross a large mountain meadow and it was good that I did. A skimmer passed over right where I was attempting to cross._

 _That far? Well, that is not good. I had already set up a shelter._

 _I can keep walking, but it will be slow going without light, he said._

 _I put some NVGs in your bag; did you even inventory it, she asked?_

 _Not to the bottom,_ he replied, chagrined. He dumped out the pack then and used the small light for a few seconds to find the goggles in question. Sure enough, they were there. _Well, I feel silly. I will keep on then._

 _I will pack up again and come to meet you, she said. Keep moving south and I will shoot you a new coordinate in a little while._

 _Roger, on my way, he said._ Shemric repacked the bag quickly and moved off using the visibility of the greenish light image. They were a decent model and the depth of vision was not too bad. He made slow time at first until he dropped out of the sheer rock area and into the tree line. After about 30 minutes, she called him again and gave him a new location where she was setting up. She had actually covered more ground than him so it was less than five kilometers away and he reached her in another half an hour.

 _Welcome home, dear,_ she greeted him as she sensed him coming near. _Dinner is on the table._

Dinner turned out to be a warmed-up meal from a restaurant and not concentrates, which was quite welcome. The shelter was a small two-man tent and they fastened their two small sleeping bags together to form one larger.

 _Mmm_ , _mmm_ , was all she said as they cuddled up together. _I am sorry you had to walk so far._

 _It was hardly the worst day I have ever had on my feet, he said. I should tell you about the day the war ended here and I decided to stay._

 _Please do, she said. I have always wondered but you did not seem to want to bring it up._

 _I never really thought about it. I had been here fighting the Imperials for the better part of a year when word came down we were withdrawing. I was in a personnel carrier, flying out of the city when I noticed a sizeable force below, pinned down by the Imps._

 _Please, show some respect, she teased. I hate that nickname._

 _Sorry, they were pinned down by the Imperial Army Regulars,_ he said and she giggled _. I asked my master how they were getting out and he said there were no more transports to take them and an argument ensued. So I just jumped._

 _Nice. So your last contact with your Jedi masters was when you disobeyed an order, said Julienne._

 _More or less, yeah, he said. I landed in the middle of the mess and then tried to find the local commander. It turned out to be Neord._

 _He has been with you from the very beginning, then, she said._

Shemric detailed the fight to get underground and how they survived to blend with the population. It seemed like a very long time ago.

 _I suppose that puts a number of things into perspective, she said._

 _What do you mean, he asked?_

 _Well, the men's' attitude towards you, she explained. They all feel like they owe you their lives, which they likely do. It is why they put up with me, I suppose._

 _Has it been an issue?_

 _Not really, she said. They all look at me differently. Some think that by association with you, that makes me fine in their eyes. Some think that I am using you and have other motives. Some are borderline hostile. They feel overprotective of you._

 _And they discuss this in front of you? he said, slightly surprised._

 _No, well… once, I walked in on an argument and did not realize I was the cause until it was too late to affect a retreat, she said. Jose was arguing with Moral about it. They were right in each other's grills and I stepped in to mediate. Well, they backed off but then Moral realized it was me and said, "Really, you need the general's bitch to fight for you now?"_

 _Ouch._

 _Jose took him down and beat his head on the ground for a while until I pulled him off. By then there was a pretty big audience so Jose stood up and started speech-ifying. "Not a one of you would be here to suck air without the general, so shut your kriffing mouths and mind your own business. We all owe him everything and if he wants to screw one of his officers, well, good for him. The next person that brings it up is going to get my boot up his ass."_

 _He did not? With you standing there, asked Shemric ?_

 _Oh, he very much did, in fact,_ she said, and she sounded very amused _. He looked around then and realized what he had said and registered that I was standing there. He apologized to me there in front of everyone. We were friendly before that, but since then we talk more. No one really thinks anything of it, because he has a local woman and two kids. And he broke the jaw of one guy who accused him of getting a little on the side with me._

 _Soldiers can be direct and we are not really regular Army anymore here, he commented._

 _No, you are not._ She was quiet for a long time and he thought she had fallen asleep. _Not quite, she said._ It was a faint brush on his consciousness. _This feels too good. I cannot see how we are going to be able to part when it is time._

 _Why do we need to, he asked?._

 _I do not know, she said. But I know we must._ It was the last thing she said and Shemric did not fall asleep quickly afterwards as he thought about it.

* * *

Waking up in the wild is a very different experience than doing so in a city, especially if you are not accustomed to the natural sounds. In this case, it was a great pleasure not hearing an alarm or the sound of vehicle traffic, or aircraft overhead. Shemric felt himself coming awake with a keen awareness of his surroundings, but most especially the woman whose form was closely molded to his own.

He sensed her waking up at nearly the same time but she did not move.

 _And why would I move? I am exactly where I want to be,_ she whispered in his mind.

 _We might get hungry if we do not move from here eventually,_ he pointed out. _What is the plan for today, he asked?_

 _We are going to move to a location I picked out yesterday that is far enough away to observe but unlikely to drawn any attention, she said._

 _What if they have thermal sensors he asked?_

 _This tent retains 98 percent of its thermal contents. We will look like a rabbit or whatever they call the local fauna.._

 _Very well, he said._ She still had not moved and so he relaxed and tried to enjoy the sense of her without overindulging. After a few moments he felt a distinctly odd sensation of pulsing and he realized that their hearts had aligned and were beating in unison. It was … he had no words for it. When he looked down at her face again, she had raised her head and her eyes met his.

 _You are getting better about lying in bed and not worrying,_ she noted.

 _I cannot think of a reason to worry at this moment, he said._

It turned out that they spent more time sneaking and avoiding over flights that day than they did hiking. The trees were not particularly thick on this side of the mountains and so they had to take a roundabout route to the overlook location. It did turn out to provide a perfect view of the depot but it must have also been a navigating point for the occasional skimmer patrols because they were overflown half a dozen times in the four hours after they reached the location. After the second, they decided to set up the tent among some scrub bushes lower down the slope. They lay on their bellies and observed through binos what was going on below.

Juju also pulled out a scanner she brought along to monitor their radio traffic; it had decryption gear for the Sith codes and signals.

 _Have you had this all along?_ he asked in surprise when she brought it out.

She gave him a flat look. _Of course, I tried to keep my best gear back for just the right moment._ She stared at him. _No, idiot, I picked it up on my last mission into the capital. Dear Acina left it for me along with the other depot information._

He nodded but did not rise up to her irritation. She admitted that she kept secrets from him. This would have been useful from the beginning.

She gave him another hard stare. _You may as well just say what you are thinking. It is not that hard for me to guess. You don't really have many secrets from me._

 _Why can I not sense what you are thinking, then,_ he asked?

 _Why can I not run as fast as you do?_ she asked and gave him a frank stare.

He met her eyes and then nodded. _Sorry. I should just be glad you are so talented at it._

 _Yes, you should be, now be quiet, I am trying to listen._

The hours passed slowly until dark and except for the skimmer over flights, the security was fairly minimal. After the fourth overpass Shemric observed that they had come by every 45 minutes. They waited for the next and sure enough, it came right on schedule.

 _Amateurs. Why patrol if you are going to be predictable, asked Julienne?_

 _Well, it makes our job easier, he said._

When dark came, they got out and moved around a bit, taking turns watching and listening. They had planned to do the on-site recon around midnight, so they had napped several times and were both getting anxious by the tenth hour. That is when things got interesting.

 _The patrol is coming back early,_ noted Shemric .

 _I do not think so, said Juju. That is not the same craft._ She listened while the flashing lights neared the depot and then set down in the main landing area. It was a fairly large military transport shuttle.

 _What is this, now, asked Juju? They were not scheduled for any new arrivals today. That is a heavy transport._

 _Please do not be an entire platoon of troops that jump out the back, said Shemric ._

 _That would be a speed bump we don't need, she agreed._

She tuned in the landing chatter and it appeared the depot was as surprised to receive the shuttle as Shem and Juju were. Once it had landed, there appeared to be a heated discussion with a lot of arm waving between the load master and the shuttle crew, but eventually they all calmed down and went inside. Shemric had expected the shuttle patrols to increase in frequency after dark but the opposite actually happened. It appeared they were going out every two hours.

 _They should fire the depot security office_ r, said Julienne. _This is embarrassing._

They observed until the eleventh hour when pretty much all the lights from the facility were out except for a few standing lights near the landing pad. It was not going to be that hard to move about once they were over the fence. They geared up in the dark and Shemric started when Julienne emerged in full Sith costume down to the black cape.

 _You are an idiot,_ she said and he could sense rather than see her shake her head. _I am a Sith. This is not a costume for me. It is a statement. If I comes down to it, I can bluff our way out, but I doubt it will be necessary. This place is minimum security. I could rob them with a credit chip and a pocket knife._

It turned out that she had a lot more than a credit chip and a pocket knife. She brought the radio scanner with her and gave him an earpiece for starters. She also had a sophisticated device to defeat the motion sensors. Lastly, she handed him his own black cloak.

 _It is better for the darkness,_ she said. He thought she felt amused.

 _You just want to get me in black,_ he accused.

 _Maybe._

They moved down off the mountain at a slow jog, employing the NVGs and listening in for any activity on the scanner. They drew as near as possible to the depot without leaving the forest and then they set up the anti-motion sensor device.

 _It does not defeat the sensor; it just creates a loop so that it thinks it is seeing what it saw for the last thirty seconds. I am going to run and jump over. Wait until the green light comes on again before you go._

 _Can you jump that high, he asked?_

She gave him the mental equivalent of a dirty look and then pushed something on top of the device. When the green light came on, she sprinted and leaped high over the fence to land in the darkness beyond. Shemric waited for the green light and then followed her into the depot. After landing on the hard permacrete, he sprinted to the darkest shadows and waited. He could sense Julienne moving and looked through her eyes for just a moment to see that she was under the large shuttle that had landed earlier in the evening.

 _I want to see what is inside before we move on, she said._

Shemric pulled his cloak down over his face and waited. He focused very purposely on riding her awareness with a light touch. As such, he followed her in through the bottom hatch and into the hold where she flicked on a small, pen light and began to examine crates. He sensed she was becoming excited even before she spoke.

 _These are anti-air missiles; the surface-to-air type on a launcher, not handheld, she said. Why would someone send these? The resistance does not have any air assets so these are wasted._

 _You think your boss sent us a present, asked Shemric? That would seem to be taking a rather direct hand in matters here._

 _It is certainly possible, but it would have to be done without tracing it back to her, said Juju. It sure looked like the folks at the depot had no idea why it was here. Your folks could get up to quite a bit of mischief with anti-air missiles in their hands._

Julienne moved up to the cockpit and again she seemed agitated. _They left the cockpit controls unlocked._

 _It seems they are begging us to steal the thing. That makes me nervous._

 _I concur._ She dropped out of the shuttle and followed the shadows to the entryway they had decided to enter. It had an electronic lock that she opened with her clever device she had used back at the hotel.

 _Why are we still going inside,_ he asked?

 _Something odd is happening here and I want to understand it,_ she said. They found their way to the main shuttle bay and entered it to find that the shuttle was loaded as if it was ready to be sent on a delivery run. Its controls were also unlocked. Julienne examined the load out and seemed more agitated than before. _This is almost a perfect match for the gear and weapons that Acina told me to come and steal. We could fly these things out of here and not even have to conduct a raid._

 _And put them where, asked Shemric? These are both too large to fly back to base and they might be able to follow the heat signature via satellite and follow us right to home._

 _That is unlikely, but yes, possible, she said. I need to check on something._ She left the shuttle and went to the console that controlled the door. She plugged a chord in the terminal and began to scan through what looked like the door-opening menu. _If we could open the door without the normal flashing lights and blaring safety siren then we could fly right out of here._

 _And your instincts are not screaming at you that something odd is going on, he asked?_

 _Of course they are, but it might be worth it anyway, she said._

 _I have a bad feeling about this, he said._

 _Let me see if I can get this door open, she said._

 _Let us wait for a while,_ he suggested with as much urgency as he thought she would tolerate _. What is the rush?_

 _The night is wastin', she said._

 _Give it an hour, he pleaded. One hour and I will do whatever you ask._

He could not see her eyes or her expression in the dark, but he knew she was considering him. He felt her nod and he let out a breath. _Let us go to the roof and wait,_ he suggested.

They slipped through the corridors quietly and noted how few actually staff were awake and monitoring anything. They found stairs and then eventually a roof access that let them look out over the depot. They found a spot in the shadows and sat down. Despite the irritation he sensed from her she sat close enough to him to be touching and reached over and took his hand.

The time went by slowly but the night was pleasant. When perhaps, forty-five minutes had passed, there was a blare of incoming traffic into the command center. It was hard for Shemric to follow with the heavy Sith accents, but he could sense enough of what Juju was hearing for him to get the gist; there was a Sith interceptor inbound. In less than five minutes a sleek, darkly painted fighter craft appeared in the distance. A frantic ground crew signaler appeared and used his laser pointer to indicate where the fighter could land. Before it landed it did two circuits of the base and then settled to the ground inside the fence.

A pilot appeared in the flash of a landing light and then disappeared in the dark. _He is not a Force-sensitive. Just a pilot. The command center has no idea why the patrol is here._ She was quiet for a time. Something about a plot to steal weapons… now the pilot is arguing with the watch commander. The signal stopped. _Now they are speaking in person, I assume._ Julienne was quiet for a time before she spoke again.

 _How did you know,_ she asked?

 _I did not_ know _anything, but when too many weird things happen, it is time to pay attention, he said. I do wonder if your master is trying to play both sides here. It would not be the first time you were sent on a suicide mission._

She said nothing while they waiting in silence. Another 15 minutes passed before the pilot returned to his ship and flew off.

 _Do you think he will be back, asked Shemric?_

 _I wish I could say, she admitted. This is very odd. I almost want to create a disturbance to test a theory._

 _We lose surprise if that happens, he said._

 _Are you arguing we just steal them now, then, she asked?_

 _Maybe an hour from now, he said._

 _I would argue that is just being timid, but you probably just saved the mission, so it strikes me that I ought to listen, she said._

 _Pull out your tablet, he suggested. Pull up a map._ She did as he asked and he started to look over the terrain available to them. _What about this … he began … we fly them here, to this forest and try to hide them under cover. That is less than twenty minutes of flying time. Unless this has been a trap from the beginning and they have an eye in the sky there is no way an interceptor can fly here and then come and find us in that time. We sit on them for a couple of days and then fly out at night again. Maybe back to our old base in the mountains. That place had a hangar big enough for both of them to fit. Or maybe we land right in the front yard, unload them and then fly them away again._

Shemric could sense Julienne's thoughts spinning but it was too complex for him to catch anything. She was impatient and yet, she was not suicidal. She would listen.

In the end, she agreed and they waited for more than another hour before moving. Her computer hijacking equipment managed to get the door open quietly and they waited a few more minutes to see if anyone came to check it out. They did not and she moved to the other two patrol shuttles that were on the field and scrambled their locking systems so that someone would need to completely reboot before they would open or fly again. They parted to the shuttles and synced their flight plans before starting their engines simultaneously. Shemric had been given the job of flying the big shuttle while Julienne had the smaller, more agile one. They were actually lifting off before any radio traffic began asking if anyone knew what was happening. There were not even any alarms.

Shemric's vessel was really a tub, not meant for fancy flying or any sort of trickery, so he watched the instruments nervously as they flew up over the mountain north and passed over ?from where he had started hiking two days prior. After twelve minutes of flight time Julienne reported that they had scrambled interceptors from the capital and so he was glad they were already over the heavily forested land he had picked out to hide. Juju picked a place to land and they dropped in under the high canopy and shut the engines off quickly. It was now Julienne's job to cover them with the camouflage netting while Shem tried to suck some of the heat from the engines to cool them down more quickly. It was not something he had tried before, but he had wondered if he could convert heat energy into Force energy in much the way he did with lightning and other forms of power.

In the beginning, nothing happened and he wondered if his theory was flawed. It _should_ have worked, but nothing happened and he finally gave up and helped Juju cover the ships. It turned out to be a non-issue because search ships did not overfly them all night. They had landed near the third hour and spent the next two hours tensely waiting for dawn before they could check the effectiveness of their camouflage.

As the sun began to just peek out, they adjusted the netting and added leaves from the nearby trees to increase the effectiveness. After they were satisfied, they hiked for the better part of an hour under the canopy of trees before stopping in a dense grove and setting up their shelter.

 _I guess it depends now on how many ships they devote to searching, said Julienne._

 _And the flyers are not going to be very enthusiastic when they find out what was stolen, he pointed out. That should work in our favor._

 _I agree, now let us go to sleep, she suggested._

Again the shelter's sleeping pad turned out to be more comfortable than one would have thought and they slept undisturbed through the day. When night came, they hiked back through the forest back to the ships and found them undisturbed.

 _So do we wait another day or two, or just move them now, she asked?_

 _Neord and the staff are not expecting us back sooner than three or four days from now, said Shemric. We could wait that long before anyone worries and by then the Imperials will be banging their heads from looking for aircraft movement. They can ground everything for a day or so, but then it will start to create some problems. I say we go back to our shelter and hang out and train with sabers for three days._

To this Julienne agreed and by the top of the night they were back at their shelter happily sleeping. The following morning they slept late and lay around in their tent, content to do nothing until nearly the top of the morning. At that point, Julienne shooed Shemric out to work on their lightsaber skills.

 _The unlimited space will be nice, she pointed out as they emerged wearing workout gear._

* * *

They spent three days in that secluded forest and indulged in fighting and sleeping and making love until both of them decided it was time to move on. They decided to try to fly all the way to their abandoned base in the mountains where they had first met. It had a large enough space to hide the ships and the terrain was favorable for hiding. They flew out in the darkness and flew slowly and carefully through the predawn hours before setting down just after sunlight and spending an hour covering the skimmers again.

It took them two more hops over the next day to make it all the way there and then they went on foot to the base to see who was about on the skeleton crew. It turned out Lt. Missell was the commander of the base which was used mostly as overnight housing for recon units moved up and down the line of mountains. She radioed the completion of their mission and within a day, Commander Neord had arrived with half the staff to see what they had brought back.

Once it had been brought in and inventoried, it was difficult for Neord to contain his enthusiasm. "This is even more than we thought we were going to get, sir. We can do some real damage with this. I can't believe you stole anti-air missiles." His attitude towards Julienne had not changed, but at least he did not frown every time he saw her.

Shemric went back to his old room and spent the next few days working out of that office while they came up with a plan to move the equipment. His raid with Julienne became the basis for all their planning for the next few months until it was time to strike. Unfortunately, others had different timelines, which was probably why they were eventually taken by surprise.


	11. Chapter 11

**3649-Balmorra**

"And what is that you seemed to be constructing?" asked Julienne as she walked into his office without knocking. His desk that was normally covered with papers was now covered with lightsaber components. Shemric had sensed her proximity vaguely but she was very good about covering her Force-presence now and so she suddenly popped into his awareness at times.

"Oh, just a little something to keep me occupied when I am bored," he said. Then she noted something amid the clutter and reached for it quickly.

"What is this? Are you thinking about changing sides?" she asked. She was holding a red crystal that he had been working on for the past week.

He snorted. "Hardly, it was supposed to be a surprise but since you are back early and barged in without knocking you may as well see the result." Shemric Force-assembled some of the components that were lying on the table until a beautiful lightsaber hilt came together around the red crystal. Julienne's eyes were shining at the sight and she reached out and took it out of the air. A moment later she started and gave him an odd look.

"Uh, it does not seem to have an actuator," she noted.

"Not on the outside," he said smiling. She blinked and then concentrated for a moment before a crimson blade of plasma shot out and began to buzz.

"That is clever," she said and gave him a direct look. " _You_ are clever."

"Well, if she does not find you handsome, at least she should find you handy," he mumbled.

"Maybe I find you both," she said. He sniffed and went back to the thing he had been working on. After a moment, she asked, "How is it that you can make a crystal that is Sith and for someone else?"

"The color has very little to do with the properties of the blade; it is not Sith, or not-Sith," he explained without taking his eyes off the piece on which he was fiddling. "I could make one for you that was pink and it would still do the same things." He lifted an eyebrow to her. "You would not like pink? No, I thought not, so I made it your traditional Sith red. As for how, well, I know you fairly well by now. I put the essence of you into the crystal."

"Colored by the way you see me," she pointed out.

He shrugged. "Perhaps, but I think not. It was really the way you _feel_ to me in the Force. You are an odd balance of Light and Dark. I find myself changing to match you the longer we are together."

Julienne flourished the weapon several times before the blade disappeared. "Does it bother you that I might turn this against Jedi in the future?"

"Of course it bothers me," he said, "but you and I, we are … " he searched for the word.

"…linked," she supplied.

"Yes," he agreed. "We have something to do that has nothing to do with Jedi or Sith, or perhaps everything to do with them. I humor myself to think that the Jedi will have an agent among the Sith, but you might say the same; both of us may be correct. Why? Well, that escapes me, but discounting feelings because they cannot be explained ..."

"… is a bad idea," she finished for him.

Often, when they spoke of the future, a shrewd, knowing looked crossed Julienne's features and he suspected that she knew something she was not telling. That happened again and because he was looking for it, he was surer than ever. But she was not going to share it this day apparently. Nor likely any day soon.

"So what else are you doing there?" she asked after she stashed the saber in her pockets. "Are you trying to make a pike, or … what?"

"It is meant to be a projectile weapon," he said. "Watch." He brought the piece of his project together until they resembled a short spear. He picked it up by the end and put it over his shoulder. "So you hold it in some sort of shoulder-mounted arrangement and then…" he took the handle quickly and whipped it over his shoulder to hurl at a target he had set up that was made of steel plating from a destroyed armored vehicle. As it left his hand he ignited the short, pointed blade and the weapon streaked across the room and buried itself in the steel plate. When it ran out of momentum, the energy of the blade continued to cut through the metal until it fell to the floor where it lay humming until Shemric called it back to his hand.

As with so many things martial, it definitely impressed Julienne who immediately asked to try it out a few times. After half a dozen throws, her accuracy was perfect and she asked if she could keep it.

"That is sort of my prototype," he said.

"Well, have you worked out the bugs?" she asked.

"I think so," he said. "But I do not have any components to help me manufacture them, so I have to shape them all using the Force."

"You can shape metal with just the Force?" she asked in surprise.

"I can; it is very time and energy-consuming," he said. "It is a lot easier if you have a metal shop that specializes in building lightsabers."

"Will your talents never cease?" she said, impressed. "Well, you look like you need some exercise, so put that down."

Shemric did not even have a saber, really, just the two throwing blades he had been building, and so in the instant that she leaped for him, he pulled the second together and brought both of them into his hands in time to cross them above his head to prevent her from slicing his desk in half. He then did an uncharacteristic move for him and leaped up over her head and out into the center of the room. A spin in the air meant he was facing her when she whirled and came at him. Her blade gave her more reach but he had two, in effect, and used them to keep her back as they surged and fought back and forth across the open space in his room.

He was at a disadvantage and constantly on the defensive until she managed to knock one of his weapons out of his hand and then twisted to aim a strike at his neck. Shemric threw up a hand at the last moment and used his forearm to knock aside the blade. It was better than getting his head cut off, but Julienne must have expected him to block it somehow and her eyes widened in horror as she made contact. His anger exploded out of him in a form of a half-shove, half-lightning attack that blew her across the room and sent her skidding along the floor.

The pain of the burn threatened to bring on shock and Shemric was nauseous to the point where he wretched several times, and then several times more when he smelled his own burned flesh. He ignored Julienne who was rising slowly on the opposite side of the room and walked over to his desk and opened a drawer with a med-kit. He pulled out a burn dressing and carefully wrapped it around his forearm and then used taped it to make sure it stayed.

"Shem?" came a tentative query from Julienne. He could sense her feelings and she seemed genuinely remorseful, but his anger was a seething, painful thing right now. He punched the door lock on his room and the sound neutralizer and then reached into his desk for his own practice saber. When he turned to Julienne, his face must have been a sight because she recoiled slightly.

"Shem, I am …" she did not even finish. She never apologized.

"Shall we try again?" he said and even to himself his voice felt cold. She looked very uncertain of what was going to happen, but she ignited her new red blade. He attacked relentlessly then and she backed up, relying solely on Sorensu, which she had only really ever practiced against him. She had improved at it, but today something in Shem's anger was feeding him and giving him a new speed and power he had not often felt. He wondered if this was what he had been warned against—the power and lure of the Dark Side, but it did not feel that way to him.

Despite her best efforts, he struck and shocked her three times in the first few minutes until he could sense that she was becoming more than a bit angry at him in return. Good. Let her get over the minimal regret she had been feeling and put up a fight. As her anger grew, his seemed to leech away until he was fighting much as he always had and their sparring was very evenly matched. She did not manage to strike him and he could not get to her as well. For the most part, they matched blade against blade with very little outside use of the Force.

Shemric had no idea how long they had gone on when Julienne held up a hand to stop. He could sense she was feeling more fatigue now than anger and some of the remorse was back. Now that they stopped, Shemric could feel the pulsing throb of his burn more clearly. He realized he had been holding back from her and opened up his sensations and joined consciousness. Her mouth and eyes tightened at the pain of his burn.

 _I am sorry, Shem. I cannot claim that I knew it was only a practice blade. I wanted to beat you as I always want to win. That was … reckless on my part._ She approached him and met his eyes. _We are such a pair, sometimes; neither willing to give a centimeter. I_ AM _sorry._

Well, Shemric had just claimed that she never apologized and here she was apologizing.

 _I suppose one must expect these kinds of things when you are involved with a Sith, he_ said _. And I deserved your anger. We simply have different expectations. I see that you will not be exactly the woman I want or expect, but you are … "_ He stopped and shook his head. It was pretty much an impossible feeling to describe so he stopped and projected all his admiration, respect and love to her. Her eyes widened as she accepted it and took it in and closed her eyes as her mouth opened in a surprised, 'oh.' For just a moment, she stood motionless until the strength of his sending subsided.

When she opened her eyes again, she looked genuinely pleased, despite the sweat running down her face and the feeling of fatigue he sensed from her. She crossed to him and pushed him, none too gently, toward the bed. That was always the way with her.

Later she commented that his burn might leave a scar unless he healed it himself. _I may leave it to remind me of today, he noted. We managed new heights of foolishness and success._

 _Hard training is never foolish, she chided._

 _Hard training is never foolish,_ and she tried to think of something to distract him from other questions. "Tell me more about this new lightsaber you made for me," she said quickly.

Shemric reached out and called the blade to his hand from among her clothes. It slapped his palm in a satisfactory way and he separated it into its components above them on the bed. "See this here," he said, pointing to a crystal that was such a deep red it was almost purple.

"Why are there two crystals?" Julienne asked immediately.

"Because this saber has the ability to switch back and forth between a practice blade and a normal one—with a few other perks. See the switch here." He twisted it and then reassembled the hilt before switching it on. When the blade flared, it was definitely a darker shade of red than the one before and he handed it to Julienne.

When she took it in hand, Julienne thought that if felt … right. There was something else going on as well. "What did you do? This thing feels … not exactly alive, but …" she stopped and concentrated for a moment. It made no sense but she felt like her Force awareness was increased. "What is this doing?" she asked finally.

"I do not know how to describe it other than as a lens, of sorts," he said. "It focuses the Force on one side and amplifies it out the other."

"This is amazing," she said. "It feels, different." Julienne tossed off the covers and jumped out of bed without even turning the saber off. She stepped lightly in bare feet and began to work through several forms with the new weapon. It felt different, like she was able to strike with more power. "You have changed the properties of the blade, somehow."

When she turned back to Shemric he was looking at her with that dazed expression like he had been smacked a little too hard in the head. She signed. It was nigh impossible for Shemric to focus on anything when she was around him sometimes so she waved her new saber for a moment to get his full attention. "Focus here for a second," she said.

He shook his head and looked away, before looking back to meet her eyes. "I think I increased the kinetic energy of the blade. It still feels like it is light in your hands but as you accelerate it, it gains kinetic energy faster and strikes harder."

Julienne shook her head. There were times that she wanted to shake him with his naiveté and his wishes for a perfect world where everyone got along; it was a simplistic view and not realistic. And then there were times when he did something like this—improved upon a design upon which others had worked for thousands of years-and did it in a cave with components he made himself. Julienne switched off the weapon and returned to the bed. She climbed under the covers, saber hilt still in hand.

"Are you going to sleep with the thing?" he asked her. "I would hate to have you accidentally flick it on and impale me."

 _I promise not to impale you, she said, but I am curious how this affects other things as well. Go back to sleep,_ she spoke quietly in his mind and followed it with the most subtle of suggestions. He fell asleep quickly.

* * *

Very rarely did Julienne fall asleep after Shemric, but in this case, she tweaked his consciousness just enough that he would give her some time to think. She had sensed something coming and could not quite identify it in her Force-dreams. She knew it would create conflict and be as dangerous as everything else they did, but her sense of impending doom was not specific enough to be useful.

She pondered their fight and Shemric's continual ability to do unpredictable things when he was angry. He did not channel anger in the same way she had been taught at her Sith academy and he seemed stronger and swifter for it when he did it his way. She had picked up on some of it, but her anger had been the more normal kind, as he had schooled her mercilessly and left her sore and uncomfortable. She supposed that nothing had changed for them. They were still as odd a couple as you were ever likely to meet.

 _Now who is the one lying awake, worrying,_ she thought to herself.

Eventually her fatigue took her off to sleep, but it was very troubled.

Julienne awoke to sudden movement from Shemric and the light of his saber.

 _Up now! We have visitors of the dangerous kind!_ he sent as he dashed out of bed. Crimson lightsabers were blaring about the room in a semi-circle and shots were coming in as well.

Julienne's new blade was in her hand, having slept with it, and she leaped out of bed and ignited it in time to deflect several bolts that had come her way. The room was still pitch black, so their opponents with rifles were using thermal sights. She would do something about that. She gathered her mounting anger at having been attacked in the sanctity of her own bed and poured it into the lightning she formed and sent out at the sources she sensed were firing blasters.

The sudden bright light lit the room like midday and the men using thermals cried out as their sights exploded in light and then in truth as the electricity blew out their screens. Julienne turned her attention to the nearest red blade that crashed against her defense, but the man was an amateur compared to Shem and she dispatched him quickly and efficiently. She could sense his surprise and fear of dying as she buried her blade in his chest. The crystal lens transmitted more than she wanted to feel in a fight like this.

She sensed rather than saw Shemric dancing among the other three blade wielders and since she felt no panic from him, she engaged the soldiers with blasters until they were no longer a threat. When she turned back to Shemric, he was down to only one opponent and that one was in retreat as Shemric battered him relentlessly. The fight ended sharply as Shem took the man's sword arm and then ended him quickly.

When he turned to her, he seemed to glow in the bright blue of his pulsing saber and she sensed something from him that she had not felt before—it was anger, but a cold, focused anger right on the edge of rage. His face searched for hers despite knowing she was fine through their connection.

 _Shem, are you well,_ she asked?

 _As well as one can be when he is awakened in the middle of the night by Sith assassins._ He was striding towards her and took her in a rough embrace. It was awkward, as neither of them had extinguished their lightsabers. His skin was hot to the touch and slick with sweat, but it was not his touch that shocked her. His aura, or essence was so overwhelmingly … _protective_ that she felt like he was covering her in a warm blanket. Julienne's own feelings were equally conflicted as she examined what he felt for her. He had been worried about her but had not rushed to 'rescue' her or prevent her from being harmed. Shemric knew what she could do and had counted on her to do her part.

 _I do not sense any others in the area, but there is a still a threat; I am concerned that we were targeted specifically, said Shemric. They knew WE were here but do they know the extent of our compound?_

 _What do you want to do, she asked?_

 _Probably put some clothes on, he suggested. We might create a stir running around the corridors like this._ He let go of her suddenly and started off for their bed and clothes. It was a race then and Shemric won easily before sprinting off. _Catch up when you are decent, he said._ She had worn loose pants and a camouflage blouse earlier, which she also donned quickly before pulling on rubberized slippers. She grabbed her scout assault-weapon , the ammo vest and then rushed off in pursuit.

The corridors were mostly dark but she was not using her eyes to navigate. She was not gaining on Shemric either. The blasted man could run, that was sure. In a moment, she realized that he needed her to be checking the perimeter, not chasing after him like some lovesick hound. She reversed direction and headed back for their room and the rest of her gear. She left by way of the room trap door and was out in the pre-dawn darkness in just a few minutes.

She quickly pulled out her own thermal sight and scanned the area. She cursed quietly. Their small compound that housed the command post and much of their comm. gear was surrounded. It was not a huge force but she imagined they were Sith Rangers with a few more Marauders mixed in for good measure. She estimated the defense to be outnumbered two-to-one.

 _I make out about eight squads of Rangers,_ she sent to Shemric. _Maybe around one hundred soldiers and they will be good. Probably better than your command element will be. Do you want me to begin to engage?_

 _Are they inside the perimeter, yet, he asked quickly?_

 _No, but they will not take very long to breach those fences. They must have taken out our scouts if they made it this close. Someone has raised the stakes if they loaned them Sith Rangers._

 _Lovely, he replied. Well, light 'em up, then. This is not going to be pretty. I wonder if they have air support._

 _If they do, we are dead, so don't worry about it, she said._

 _True enough,_ he said and then she could sense his attention was elsewhere.

Julienne dropped down onto the roof at the crest and unlimbered her assault weapon. It had a heavy barrel and extra power for sniper duties, but it was not a true sniper weapon. She flicked the safety and reached out to sense the incoming soldiers. She wished her rifle had a focusing lens like her new saber, but even without, she began to unleash a deadly stream of bolts out towards the approaching enemy. That she never once questioned them as the enemy should have bothered her just a little, but she knew it did not. So be it. She continued to pull the trigger.

After a dozen or so shots she began to see some return fire, so she slid back and moved to a new location on the roof. When she popped up again, the Rangers were at the fences and the loud blasts announced their presence as did the disintegrating fences. Targets were closer now and she shifted from one target to the next with only a pause for a breath and a steady squeeze of the trigger. At the last moment she sensed the arc of something not energy based and she leaped away in time to avoid the well-placed grenade they had launched at her. She rode the blast and formed a shield to protect her from the fragments, but lost her rifle in the process.

Her momentum carried her off the roof and she landed awkwardly in a heap. She sat up and shook off the fall. There were no enemies in view, so she looked around as she drew her sidearm. If it came to it, she would use her saber, but she preferred to keep her secret for now. The base was now mounting its defense and there were explosions from more grenades.

Julienne had fought many times over the years, but never before Balmorra had she thought of it as a war. Now she was in the middle of a battle. She moved along the wall carefully just as two Rangers rounded the corner and jerked to a stop in surprise. She shot them both in the neck just beneath their helmets and then took one of their rifles. It was a model she knew and it felt better to use than the pistol as her main weapon. From the corner of the building she added her fire to that coming from the windows and doorways of the motley assortment of buildings that made up their command post. She felt exposed and did not like her position at all. She had very little cover and not enough oversight to do much good; she needed to get back up on a roof.

Julienne ran back down the alley and made her way to the water tower that was situated at the center of the camp. She climbed rapidly and felt like she had a big target on her back the entire time. There was a sniper position at the top and she hooked her harness into the restraint so she would not fall off. The weapon she had appropriated was a good one and she relaxed and took several breaths in the prone before she opened up again. From this position, she was high enough to be able to see the entire attacked fanned out to hit one side of the camp. The Rangers were wreaking havoc and she doubted there were going to be a lot of survivors unless Shemric did something quickly.

This time her lofty position and the general insanity of the attack prevented the Sith from spotting her quickly and she took out target after target with a desperation she did not understand. These people were important to Shemric and his sense of anxiety was bleeding through into her feelings. The sun came up at that moment and now it became increasingly difficult to find targets with her eyes. She closed them then and tried to find targets through the Force. It was not easy at this range, but she continued to add her fire to the attack until she felt an eruption of the Force out beyond the fence and realized that Shemric was out there.

Even in the glare, his blue blade was evident as he swept down the line. Soon the entire holding force that had stayed outside the fence to fire inside had turned their blasters on him and he was a blazing maelstrom of Sorensu as bolts deflected off in every direction. Even he could not sustain that for long, she knew, and so Julienne fitted a grenade to the under-barrel launcher and did her best to aim. It was a poor shot, but she deflected it enough with the Force that it landed in the Rangers midst. She rapidly fired off the three remaining grenades and then peered back towards Shemric just as an explosion rocked the tower. One support strut buckled and the others screamed in protest as it started to tip in slow motion. She tossed aside her weapon and released the latch that had been her safety line. She leaped for the rail and then shoved off with muscles and the Force to leap for a nearby roof.

Julienne might have made it except that one of her feet slipped on the falling water tank's slippery surface and her push off did not carry her to the rooftop for which she had aimed. Instead, she impacted the edge of the corrugated metal with a loud grunt and cracking of ribs and scrabbled for handholds. There were none, and she fell weakly backwards into space.

Shemric felt Julienne's panic and pain through the Force but could do nothing at the moment. Thanks to Julienne's grenade attack, he had mopped up the support force outside their camp and reports he heard over the radio earpiece he was wearing said it was pitched fighting among the buildings. Neord had trained his men and women well, but they were not going to come out well against Imperial Rangers. Shemric leaped the fence and called out to Julienne several times without any response. He knew she was still alive, but not well, certainly, but he could not leave the mopping up to the others. He ran from one point to another, seeking enemies until he could not find any more fighting.

Shem ran in the direction he sensed Julienne and found her lying on her stomach, soaking wet from the water tower fall, where she had been washed up against a wall. Shem quickly turned her over and checked to see if she was breathing and for other injuries. He sensed she had broken ribs and perhaps a concussion from the fall, but he hesitated to try and fix her head injury; his training in that area was meager at best. He decided after a little more prodding that her head injury was not serious, so he mended her cracked ribs enough that she would not be in danger from moving and then made his way off to the building where they shared a room. He picked up an escort along the way as several of his soldiers saw him and surrounded them.

Shemric laid Julienne down in their bed as the men exclaimed about the carnage in his office. He covered her, checked her pulse again and then took his impromptu bodyguard to the command post. There he found Captain Janicek coordinating the defense and mobilizing for evacuation as well. Commander Neord was away and it made sense that Janicek would be in charge there. With confidence all was well at the command post, Shemric took the men with him to go and look for any holdouts and to search for wounded. Once Capt. Janicek pronounced the perimeter completely secured, Shemric returned to the command post to confer with the captain. Together they decided to hold in place.

"If the other detachments send out trucks to bring us in, it will give away their positions," argued Janicek. "We need to avoid that. Commander Neord is right. We should hold."

Shemric nodded reluctantly. "We will be sitting Banthas here for some time. I do not understand this attack at all. A few more men and they would have wiped us out."

"Or just dropped a load on us," said Janicek. "A wave of Sith bombers would have reduced us to rubble."

To Shemric, it felt like the attack was just an unfriendly warning to stay on their toes and not become complacent. It could very easily have been Julienne's master sending the attack. Even as he worried about her, he could not help but be irritated at the political games they were playing with men's lives. Of course, that entire argument was circular; she had been injured while falling from the water tower where she had been firing down on the attacking Sith. Without her, the attack would have very likely succeeded.

He shook his head. There was no sense in trying to apply any logic or reason to the situation. Once the remaining scouts had been sent out and the casualties brought in, Shemric went to check on Julienne. He had hoped she would wake and send him some sort of message.

The room smelled of sweat and bowels loosened after death and Shemric nearly gagged at it when he entered. It was one thing to ignore in the heat of a fight but another to come back to the place where you sleep to be confronted by it. When he looked over Julienne, she seemed fine and was resting, so he went about the ugly work of dragging the Sith soldiers across the floor and out the door. It seemed callous to load them on a small truck like firewood, but there were far too many to bury with the personnel that were left. Once the last person had been removed, he realized that most of his revulsion had been at the feel of violence in the room that he could sense and only a little had to do with the actual smell.

He went looking for cleaning supplies and did his best to sanitize the area. It seemed that he was just procrastinating from worry. He should have heard from Julienne by now and he was putting off something he needed to do. Shem put the mop and bucket outside the door and then crossed back to his bed and the comatose Julienne. He leaned over the bed and touched her forehead, but the physical proximity felt one-sided as there was no returned sensation from her.

Shemric closed his eyes and tried to merge his consciousness with Julienne, but her walls stayed strong and he could not get in to feel her. She certainly never had a hard time entering his walls, but then, she had mostly built them, so she probably had a door. In resignation he decided he would have to deal with the physical problem. He used his physical contact with her to sink deeper into consciousness of her body's workings and eventually, the problems it was presently experiencing.

Her skull was fractured, something he had not sensed on his first examination and that was something he was not going to attempt to fix. There was swelling inside her head that made him nervous as well, but he was very leery of playing with her brain. It was mostly just trial and error as he tried to reduce the swelling, but eventually he felt a very delicate shift in the function of her mind and suddenly he was being sucked into her consciousness.

Shem opened his eyes in surprise and he was on the beach. He turned quickly and there was Julienne there, sunning as usual, and smiling despite her closed eyes.

 _I suppose you did something to heal my brain, did you, she asked?_

 _I helped reduce the swelling a bit. It was fairly simple. I do not have training to do more than that._

 _Well it seems that it worked, she noted. I was kind of liking my relaxation here, but I knew something was wrong and I could not fix it myself._

For a moment, she seemed ready to thank him but she remained silent. It annoyed her greatly to have to rely on others, even if it happened to be Shemric. He sighed mentally but kept quiet. Julienne would never be exactly what he wanted her to be.

 _So … we are still alive, obviously,_ she continued. _Have we moved from that location?_

 _No, we are holding tight, he said. The attack was very odd. I almost think it was aimed at us more than the resistance at large. Or maybe it was just to decapitate the leadership. They still believe I am the linchpin._

She was quiet for a long time and he could only glean the very edge of her thought processes. Julienne would come to her own conclusions and then she would share them at her leisure. So he waited and enjoyed the peace of the beach. He wondered again if this was a real place or just their imagination.

 _It is a real place, we just have not been here yet, she said._

And who could say what that meant? She did not offer further explanation.

 _We need to leave this place. We do not really rest when we are here._

 _As you say,_ he agreed. She had mentioned that before and found it to be true.

 _Here,_ she said and held out her hand. When he took it, she winked and it felt like he was being sucked into a hose and spit out. He was vaguely aware of being in his body again. Julienne was sleeping and he was exhausted, but he needed to check in at the combat information center. He groaned and came to his feet. Sleep would wait.

Julienne lay quietly and thought while Shemric slept next to her. He had used up a great deal of energy in the attack and the subsequent healing of her body and he needed the rest more than she did. Once again, he had pulled her back from … well, something. Her body would have healed itself eventually, perhaps, but she thought that she had been in a coma so it could have been weeks and months. That would likely have proved deadly for both of them.

She had not shared her own thoughts about the attack because Shemric would not have liked the conclusion at which she had arrived. This was Darth Acina's way of pushing her along. They had had the new weapons for some time and had not yet done anything with them except a few minor prodding attacks. This was a call to action. It was Acina's way of saying, 'Get moving or I am going to come up with another plan.'

Well, Julienne did not control the planning element of this little rebellion, but she could certainly influence Shemric into doing something. If might even be well to just explain it to Neord and let him pick some sort of raid that would be damaging but retain most of the newer weaponry for the big raid they were planning. That one was still months away so they needed something else and she needed to think of something.

The trick would be convincing Commander Neord, of course. How would she be able to convince him of the need for some action? She smiled to herself and realized it would not be that hard. She just needed to tell him the truth.

* * *

Julienne had been so amused and confident that she should have known that it would never be that easy to convince the commander when he was so distrusting of her. He wanted no part of the raid she was proposing; his posture, his facial expression, even the squint of his eyes made it clear this was no part of the business of their resistance. When he looked to Shemric, Neord looked confident that he would get the support he needed. Instead, Shemric looked conflicted. Which, in turn seemed to anger Neord.

"Sir, this is … " Neord stopped and seemed to be wondering how far he could push this. Julienne decided it was time to tell the truth as she had thought might be necessary.

"Listen, Commander … " she stopped and moderated her tone, "This attack, it was aimed at me. Or us," she said and nodded at Shemric. "Oh, they wanted to cripple our leadership, sure, but the first stealth attack was aimed right at we-two, in our bedroom. I do not really know if it was intended to succeed or not. The Sith warriors they sent were not particularly good, but frankly, I have a hard time judging their skills anymore since I have been training with Shemric. He has elevated my skills beyond my peers, I suspect.

"In any case, if we do not do something, then my dear master is going to just erase us next time, unless we manage to hide better," she said. "I am telling you this because our goals are aligned for now and we have the potential to do some damage with the new weaponry, but we need to show we are using it. The long-term attack can still take place, but we need to do some damage now."

She held Neord's gaze for some time and neither seemed to particularly like what they saw. It was a standoff; Neord knew that Shemric would stay with Julienne but Julienne knew that Shem would never endanger his men unnecessarily.

"I have an idea," said Shemric into the silence. They both turned to look at him and he gave his mildest smile. "Julienne and I will conduct the raid with one of the ground-to-air missiles teams as backup. We go in, create some havoc, steal a skimmer and fly right over the missile site with fighters in pursuit. That will give us some freedom in future missions to use our stolen skimmers because they will be extra cautious about following us close to the ground. If we managed to shoot down something, great. If not, it will still make them extra cautious to follow our skimmers on future raids." _And please do not tell me that you put that idea into my head,_ said Shemric. _I feel rather clever coming up with it._

 _I cannot put ideas into your head, idiot,_ she replied. _If that was something along the lines of what I was thinking then you may have picked up on it somewhat, but I was not even projecting. Maybe we are just starting to think alike._ Julienne kept her face neutral and continued staring at Neord, but she sent waves of pleasing thoughts to Shem.

"At what point are they going to figure out we have two Force-users running amok?" asked Neord.

"We will not do anything overt," said Shem, who was looking slightly distracted. _Will you knock that off? he told her. Us thinking alike is not necessarily a good thing._ "We are not going to go in lightsabers blazing,"

"A raid with two people is still going to look odd," said Neord.

"Then we can support with snipers or one of the recon units," said Shem. "We have always used the small mortars for harassing fire. Some combinations of men can make this look more serious, but the goal is mainly to steal the shuttle and make the fighters leery of following for the future. Than could be useful."

The three of them stared at each other for some time. Julienne knew it was going to happen but she did not want to look smug. When Neord finally nodded, she did nothing but confirm a time when mission planning would take place.

In the end, after all the discussion, the mission went off without casualties. Shem and Juju set the demolition charges and stole a skimmer, the recon unit damaged many of the skimmers with mortar fire and the sniper units prevented the crews of the undamaged skimmers to board. They managed to shoot down not one, but two fighters expending only four of their missiles and the others bugged out quickly leaving the attack skimmer in their hands and no pursuit.

The next time Julienne reported to Acina personally, her master was more than pleased, but warned her that their time was limited. She wanted to see results in the next two months and even picked out the base she wanted destroyed. It was the natural next target in their plan anyway, but Julienne did not tell her master that. She kept Shem's confidences as best she could.

The resistance fighters kept up the pressure with their surprise attacks, but they were minor, small-arms only for the most part, and did nothing but annoy the Imperial war machine. The next attack on the major weapons manufacturing facility at Vorkik would certainly draw all the ire of the planetary commander and the attention of the Dark Council. It specialized in armor components that were used all nearly all Imperial tanks, mobile mortar and troop carriers. Of course, the rebels would not have know that without Julienne's inside information and that created another thread of distrust between her and the senior commanders.

The mission planning went forward anyway and the raid that Julienne had seen in vision began to take shape. She knew it would mean the end of her collaboration with Shemric and she had to suppress that sensation whenever they were joined. Still, he was not an idiot and he had asked her several pointed questions that she had simply refused to answer. That had made him angry and no amount of seduction on her part would bring them together. He had even avoided sleeping with her as the attack approached. She accepted his rejection and knew she deserved it, but it did not make the separation any easier to accept. When the final planning meeting went down, she was not invited and awaited her orders. When they finally came, she had been given reconnaissance/sniper duties on the least important section of the perimeter. It was obviously they did not trust her and that had to come from Shemric.

It was intolerable after everything they had been through that it would end this way, but she had seen nothing in vision to guide her. Being so close to a large city meant she was able to report to Acina often and this was going to be the final gambit of her master's plans. The destruction would be too great to ignore and Acina would be given control of the planet to smash the resistance. It had gone against her master's wishes, but she had advised Shemric that the rebels should disperse in the population and disappear or go off-planet. Most had agreed and so she felt that she had done what she could do to protect Shem's army. She sensed that she had an important conflict ahead of her, perhaps another Sith sent to destroy her, but the vision always lacked certain elements to guide her. She would just have to survive as she always did.

On the night before the attack, she lay in her bunk and fumed at the argument she had had with Shemric earlier. It was not even an argument so much as he had simply ignored her, either in verbal or their mind-to-mind communication. The link they shared was still there and she could have force her way in, but he would not forgive that. She was not sure why she was so angry, but she stood suddenly, determined that if this was the last night they were together then they would not spend it alone.

She pulled out a black cloak that she often used when she went into the city and draped it over her shoulders. She wore only light shoes and her basic uniform and she left her saber in the room; whatever happened tonight, she refused to fight Shemric.

With all the planning and preparation finished, the temporary base was quite empty at that late hour and she ghosted through the halls unseen. When she reached Shemric's quarters- _their_ quarters for months-she paused to sense if he was alone. If he was paying attention, that would have alerted him, but if he was sleeping he probably would not have noted it.

His lock was easily defeated and his sound suppressor turned on when she entered the large chamber. She was silent as she crossed the room but stopped dead when he spoke.

"It this it, then," he said quietly. "Have you come to finish the job?"

 _You are an idiot, Shemric Norm, if you think I could ever do such a thing!_ Her anger blasted aside his shields and left him stunned. She took hold of her temper; this was not why she had come. _You don't get to whine about something bad happening when I have warned you it would from the very beginning. Now stop shutting me out and let us spend one last night without arguing. I do not wish to remember you this way._

She sensed from him the mental equivalent of a sigh. _You could_ not _do whatever you have planned, he said. Just because you warned me does not give you license to act however you wish._

She knew he would be like this when she had decided to come. He wanted her but did not want to accept that she was Sith. It was an old argument and she was having none of it tonight. _We have a few hours left together, Shem. Are we going to spend them arguing or doing something we both enjoy more?_

 _Do you think I could possibly be in the mood for_ that _? he asked._

 _You have told me on numerous occasions you are always in the mood,_ she said and she tried to accompany the sending with some humor. She needed to take the edge off his anger. _Besides, this is not just about sex. I want you to hold me. I want to fall asleep in each others' arms. I want to talk about something besides the war. I cannot do that with anyone when I go back. I will be alone. Please, Shemric, for one moment, for one night, can we not be Jedi and Sith, Republic and Empire? Can we just be Shemric and Julienne?_

She sensed the lowering of his walls then. It was not a complete surrender as at other times; there were still things he was keeping back, but it was enough. He turned on the bed lighting and she saw that he had been sitting in the dark, clothed in Jedi attire with his saber on his lap, waiting for her. His mouth twitched and then he smiled.

 _You were never more attractive than when you are dressed all Sith-y, he said. It must be something about opposites attract._

She returned his smile and pulled the hood back from her face. _I hope you never describe anything I do as Sith-y again._ She sniffed for effect and he laughed. He stood abruptly to face her. He had never worn Jedi clothes in all the time since she had met him again.

 _Feeling nostalgic,_ she asked, carefully. Something odd was going on here.

 _Not really, but I needed to remember that I was a Jedi if a certain Sith came to end me, he said._

Julienne bit down on her anger and let it flow out of her. _You never have quite believed that I had any real affection for you._

 _Oh, I know you do but I am never sure if that affection would get in the way of your ambition, he said._

The words stung a bit, partly because they were true. He had asked her not to leave any number of occasions and she had declined. It was not only a vision that forced her to say no. She did not think they would ever mature as a couple until he accepted that she _was_ Sith. They would do great things together but only as Jedi _and_ Sith. He was not ready to accept that.

 _That is not entirely unjust, she admitted. I have used you, but I could never kill you. You have become a part of me that I will carry with me wherever I go. This is not the end of us, Shem, it is just a transition._ She hoped he would accept it and let them spend a last night together rather than trying to convince her to change.

She sensed the swirl of his emotions and waited for them to settle. When they did he was very calm and felt less in turmoil than he had in weeks. He sent his saber to land lightly on his desk and crossed the distance between them to embrace her. It was more like the embrace of old friends than two star-crossed lovers, but she welcomed his touch. When he released her he turned back to the bed and began to disrobe.

She joined him and they slipped under the covers and entwined themselves.

 _I have missed you, he said._

 _No talk of that, she reminded. Be in the moment._ That was not generally how Shemric operated, but she could sense his effort to try and she wrapped their combined consciousness more tightly and felt each other. He was strong and determined, as she was. It was not long before their intense awareness of each other's bodies and minds led to lovemaking. Afterwards, she pulled him away from his darker thoughts and wrapped him in satisfaction and fondness so that he was able to quickly fall asleep. She lay in his arms and thought for a long time before she followed him. Her sleep was more restful than it had been in weeks.

Julienne had learned to control her sleep so that she awoke exactly when she wished, if she wished it. As Shem shifted through his sleep cycle she brought them out of sleep so that they could lie together in the darkness.

 _Sleep with you is always worth more than any other kind, he noted. I never lie awake fretting._

 _You should remember that the next time you are angry at me, she chided. Even when you are mad at me I can still be useful._

 _I suspect that will be often, he pointed out._

 _Not as often as you think, she said._

 _Are you going to suddenly change your ways? he asked._

 _No, but we are both going to be more mature in our understanding of each other, she said. That will help reduce the conflict._ She did not want to say that he would finally accept her.

 _You speak like you know, he said._

 _Some things, she admitted. And don't ask. I am not telling anything about your future._

 _Then I guess I will just lay here in the dark and hold you, he said._

 _Please do, she suggested._

She did not want to tell him that she had never seen him in her future. Or their future. It was very odd that she just assumed that he would be there. All her assumptions and interpretations of what she saw were founded off the idea that Shemric would be with her at pivotal moments of her life. She was sure that she was correct, but doubt gnawed at her at times. Could her feeling be distorting what she saw to what she wanted to happen? She stomped down on that thought. It did not matter. She was not going to stop hoping.

Julienne lay next to Shemric, and wondered if they would be able to do what had to be done that day. This reunion may have been a horrible idea, but at that moment, she just could not regret it. No matter what happened, they had this moment, together.

Time passed. An alarm went off and it caused both of them to jump. They scurried for their clothes until they were both dressed and ready to depart. Shemric did not attempt to touch her again and she slowly closed off her walls until he was once again on the outside.

"I love you, Julienne Qa," he said.

"I know you do, Shem," she said. When she said no more, she heard him let out a long sigh of disappointment. She left quickly and did not speak again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Mid 3649-** Balmorra

"The teams have all reported back, sir," said Sgt. Harhuma. "We are a go in every sector but number 6."

Shemric closed his eyes and sighed. It was the sector that Juju was supposed to be observing and aiding with sniper fire if she could. It would not have been hard for her to slip in, compromise the team and disable their charges. It meant the confrontation he had tried to avoid was going to come anyway.

He had never wanted to have a vision of the future in his life so much as that moment and when it came it shocked him. He had never imagined it would be so vague and so painful and so full of hope. A thousand possibilities flashed through his mind in a moment and he staggered backwards under the weight of them all. His mind reeled as he tried to sort out a course that would not lead to disaster for his hopes. He locked on one and followed the thread back to its beginning. He felt like a hose that had the entire ocean forced through it at once. When it ended, he had seen what he needed.

He had to go and confront her. And defeat her. If he simply left, then they would kill each other the next time they met. If he confronted her but refused to fight, she would try to kill him. Only by defeating her did any good possibility emerge from today's events. It was absurd. More absurd after what they had shared last night.

Shemric opened his eyes and found himself gasping for air, looking up at Commander Neord.

"Sir? Sir, what is it?"

He sat up and looked around. "How long was I ... whatever?"

It was Sgt. Harhuma that spoke up, "It was about a minute, sir. You were just standing there and then you were on the ground twitching."

Everyone was looking at him strangely. He owed them an explanation, but there was no time. He divested himself of all his other weapons and his armor and then clipped his saber to his belt. That is what he had seen. Jedi vs. Sith. Light vs. Dark. Lover vs. lover. It was necessary and at that moment he hated being a conduit for the Living Force.

"I must go. I will not see you again. It has been a great honor to know you. I will take care of sector six." The others looked dismayed, but he knew he had to move now. He collected his pack and ran out of the command center at a fast trot before taking his recon bike and flying out of the compound.

She was waiting on a metal walkway about six meters above him, highlighted by the lights from the machinery, dressed head-to-toe in black. He smiled at her dramatic flair and reached out to her in the Force. She was much the same as he remembered only there were slight flares of Darkside power and she deliberately masked her thoughts from him outside of her steely determination. He stopped a good distance away to admire her. He knew he should not; this was not going to be a fight from which he walked away unscathed. Either he would win and lose her or she would win and he would die. He shook his head and projected his voice in a very tight whisper to her ears only.

"We do not have to do this."

"I have to fight someone here," she whispered back. "I did not know it would be you until you walked in just now."

"I had hoped to avoid this," he said.

"Hope is foolish," she said and leaped off the platform to land a few paces from him.

He knew from the many visions there was no way to avoid the fight they were about to begin, so he chose not to argue further. His dislike of the situation was not helping the Force flow through him so he pushed it away and thought of the good future timelines than ended well. To arrive there, today he had to be brutally effective.

He attacked her with his most aggressive version of Djem So, pounding with as much Force power as he could spare. He wanted this over and done. Apparently it was the last thing Julienne had expected and she retreated steadily from his onslaught. There was no subtlety to his attack. It was not something he generally practiced with her, certainly not as a first course of action.

They had both agreed that she had more skill in the Force and more sheer strength but he was faster and stronger with a lightsaber. When she bumped up against the stairway to the level above, he switched to Makashi and tried to hook her lightsaber away. Again the change surprised her and it went flying off into a darkened corner. She just managed to leap violently up and back a split-second before a flying kick bent the railway.

Julienne landed awkwardly and climbed over the rail looking shaken while she called her saber to hand. Shemric leaped and tried to bisect it mid-air but fell short and so twisted and tried to pull it from her grasp. That he nearly succeeded was a sign of how out of sorts she was. When his leap ended, he rushed up the stairs at full speed and met her just as she emerged on the next level. This time she attacked him and he settled into Sorensu, but it was not business as usual. Instead of patiently waiting for openings, he pressed her back with counterstrikes so that he was constantly switching back and forth between defense and attack. It was toe-to-toe bashing and Shemric lulled her into focusing on his blade before managing to connect with a kick to her thigh.

Julienne staggered back on unsteady legs, cursing him as Shemric pressed forward pounding on her in Djem So again. She backed steadily and he switched again to Makashi but she was prepared this time and struck at his lightsaber with such strength that he lost his grip. She kicked it off the walkway and instead of diving after it, he Force-leaped straight at her chest and kicked her back with two feet so that she flew through the air and slammed against a walkway railing. Seeing her gasping for air, Shemric leaped over the railing and searched for his dropped saber in the darkened interior until he was able to summon it from under a whirring piece of machinery.

Julienne had not immediately sought him out. She was usually the more aggressive one when they sparred and was constantly testing his defenses. He suspected he had lost his advantage by losing his saber at the moment he had her in retreat and she had been desperate for a rest. She leaped down from on high and walked to meet him. She was wrapped in clouds of dark fury and he could sense her anger. This was not how she had thought the fight would go.

"So that is how it is," she said in an angry voice. "All those months, all those fights and they were just a sham for this moment when you had to face me?" He refrained from reminding her that he had never planned or wanted to face her. "All the drivel about how I could improve and it was all a lie."

Something in Shemric broke then. He had not lied. He had never lied to her. He had given her his best teaching and his best efforts. "It was never a lie," he whispered quietly. "I gave you everything. But I have to win this fight and defeating you means I had to take you by surprise and do what you did not expect. I failed. Now we have to do it the hard way." And now _he_ was angry. This fight was a waste of time and energy. Julienne was demanding it because she could not stop competing. He did not want to beat her; he wanted her to love him. Again, he summoned the vision to his mind and knew that nothing had changed. He had to defeat her here and now for there to be any future for them.

So be it, he thought. Let her feel _his_ anger. Not all anger was evil, he realized in a moment of clarity. Sometimes it was justified. Sometimes people did things that were not right and others had a right to be angry.

She must have sensed the change, for she smiled. "And now you are angry at me. How interesting." Her tone was mocking and it fed his anger as he leaped at her, crystal-clear blade flashing to spark on crimson. What he did then was not like anything he had ever practiced. It was frantic, often unpredictable and violent in its' movements and that was exactly what he needed. Instead of using his anger against her he used it to fuel his own movements until they were lightning quick and stuck with the power of a hammer.

Julienne was no longer smiling. She looked like she was wondering what kind of monster she had awakened. Had he truly wished her harm he could have ended the fight then and killed her. Instead, the killing blow became a burn on her side that singed her clothes and left a nasty odor of burnt skin. She howled and Force-shoved him with great strength while leaping up and away from him. He flowed with the push and then began to absorb the power until it died and he slid to a stop. He held it inside for a fraction before unleashing it in an enormous Force-powered leap that launched him in the direction Julienne had gone.

Lightning flashed from a dark shadow, but the light-dark balance of the Force inside of him merely reached out a hand to take it in and then immediately sent it back. Julienne leaped from the shadow to avoid the blast.

When she came to her feet, her face was a rictus of rage and she leaped for him and began to rain blow upon blow backed by tremendous power. He suspected that it might have crippled him under normal conditions, but his righteous anger was stoked to white-hot pitch and he answered her blow for blow despite slipping back into familiar Sorensu. After her initial onslaught was blunted he went back into the attacking style that he had used before and pounded her. Instead of misdirecting the strikes he met them head on and the sparks from the silver blade showered her constantly and brought forth frustrated hissing. She cursed him and his blade and came on harder, but she could not push him back. He stood his ground, feet mostly unmoving and met each strike without flinching. Her anger pulsed, but he could sense her fatigue as well and the moment he felt a lessoning of the effort, he struck back and wrenched her blade from her grip.

She shrieked something incomprehensible and leaped at him. He burned her arm without severing it and she screamed shrilly but tried to kick him anyway. In a moment he dropped the saber and met her in close-quarters hand to hand combat. She had learned from him and him from her, but he was still bigger, stronger and had longer reach. Julienne's every attack was preceded by howls of wordless anger.

Finally, he grappled her to the ground and began to choke her. She flailed wildly, but he ducked his head until he felt the spark of her consciousness flee. Shemric collapsed on his back and took in great gasps of air. In a few moments, he had collected himself but with the ebbing of his anger, the power left him and he felt such exhaustion as he did not remember.

In a moment the worst of the sensation passed and he used restraints from his belt to tie and gag her. If she awoke he had no desire to speak to her _. Oh, Juju, why was this necessary?_ He had been sure, in the height of the fight that she meant to kill him and that troubled him because he had been sure, during their time together, that she would not. Something drove her that he simply did not understand.

Once he had set all the charges he brought, he picked her up and carried her out over his shoulder. He had very little Force-reserve left, so it was old fashioned muscles that would have to serve. He knew where the base's landing field was and walked there directly as if he had every right to be there. There was an attack on and no one questioned him until he walked right up to a Sith Infiltrator and began to board.

The single guard began to approach and Shemric looked at him. "Good afternoon, sir, your ship is ready for you."

"Good afternoon, sir, your ship is ready for you."

"Thank you, soldier. You have done well."

"I have done well."

The soldier saluted and Shemric continued inside to the medical bed where he laid Julienne down and strapped her in before giving her a shot of painkiller and sedative. He lifted off and began climbing steeply out of the atmosphere, despite the protests of the Imperial field controller. He had counted on them being slow to take action; when you do not encourage a lot of independent thought, then difficult decisions require senior approval and that took time; too much time to prevent Shemric from leaving the planet and jumping into hyperspace.

From Balmorra he set course for Kashyyyk. He could leave Julienne with the ship and find his own way from there. He ate and drank a little and went over all Julienne's wounds. He cringed a little at the burns he had given her, but then shrugged; every vision he had seen of him winning had shown the burns so there was not much to say. One small snippet remained in his mind about her-years from now-pointing at the scars and joking about how he ought to be a little nicer to her. That was from one of the good futures. He shook his head, it was very surreal.

When the level of sedative in her system diminished he gave her another shot that would wear off in about eight hours when he was to arrive on the Wookie home world. He was still angry enough that he had no real desire to speak with her, so he finished patching her up and then went off to sleep in the small cabin that had a locking door. It would alert him if she started to wake or if they arrived. Exhaustion led to sleep quickly and it was the second reminder that woke him.

"We will transition from hyperspace in five minutes," came the inhuman ship voice. Shemric woke slowly and got up groggily. He was very sore. He quickly gathered the things he thought he would need and then checked on Julienne one last time. Seeing her lying there quietly took all the heat from his anger. She really was beautiful in rest and he kissed her gently on the forehead. When they dropped out of hyperspace he found a large piece of orbiting junk and attached the ship before going to the ships one emergency pod and launching toward the planet. He had been to Kashyyyk once before and remembered the location of a Wookie outpost far from the main spaceport.

When he set down among the massive trees he did not go out searching. He knew the Wookies would come looking for him, so he set himself down in front of the pod with his lightsaber on his lap and began to mediate. Where was he to go and what was he to do? He was not really sure if he was still a Jedi. After all, the last Jedi association he had was disobeying an order to evacuate Balmorra. He doubted that would recommend him to his superiors.

* * *

The loss of Julienne would tell heavily on him in future days, he knew. They had been together for eighteen months before the final conflict and he had grown accustomed to relying on her and being with her. He sighed inwardly. He knew that if she wanted to find him, she would. In the meantime, he had questions and they would not be answered by Jedi on Coruscant who would upbraid him for forming such an attachment.

Who could answer those questions? Suddenly it occurred to him that his parents had done just fine together and seemed quite happy people despite leaving the Order. His desire to see them again after nearly a decade was so intense that he gasped for breath and came out of his contemplations to see a large, hair-covered form looking down at him curiously.

He spoke the few words of Wookie greeting that he knew. The tall being seemed much pleased by the effort and replied in simple hoots and barks as one might to a child. Shemric thought he was being welcomed in returned and he attempted a few more words asking for aid. The Wookie smiled without showing his teeth and beckoned for Shemric to follow. They made their way through the woods for five or six kilometers before beginning to ascend one of the monolithic trees. The Wookie gave him a set of climbing crampons and bade him to follow. From there they leaped and swung higher and higher into the tree, several times passing sentries that Shemric would have been hard pressed to spot without the aid of the Force.

They passed several anti-aircraft emplacements and eventually leaped over to a large walkway between trees. They continued to progress upward via stairs and walkways until the Wookie led him to a large room in the side of the tree full of high-tech equipment. At the back of the room a dozen or so Wookies were gathered around talking with a Wookie of great age at their head. They stopped as Shemric and his companion entered and waited for an explanation.

Finally the aged Wookie turned to Shemric and spoke common with some effort. "Welcome, Jedi. What honor, you bring, by here being?"

"I am a refugee from Balmorra where I was fighting the Sith there," he explained slowly. "I was leading a group of natives and Republic soldiers who had been left years earlier. I was betrayed and had to flee. I stole a Sith ship and then abandoned it to come here, hoping to find aid."

"Jedi are always welcome. Those who fight Sith are most welcome."

Shemric nodded. They conversed slowly until the Wookie offered him food and rest, which he gladly accepted after the monumental fight of the previous day and the equally large task of climbing the tree.

Shemric stayed on Kashyyyk for a six standard days until they smuggled him off-planet on a barge bound for Cato Neimodia. After a day on the barge, Shemric was sure he would never appreciate that rare wood extract in quite the same way, but it got him where he could find other transport. During the week that had passed, he decided to find his parents and after thinking on how to start the search, he decided to look them up on the Galactic census. It was a long shot, and in the end cost him too many credits and turned up nothing.

After several days of searching, it occurred to him he might find them in the same way that he always seemed to know where Julienne was-their connection in the Force. It took several hours of deep mediation and effort before he was able to pin down a picture in his mind of where they were located. They were no longer on the planet on which he had grown up.

The longer he meditated the more images began to come to his mind of a rich agricultural world. By the third day he was fairly sure it was Nubia, a Core world that specialized in space drives and agricultural products. And then suddenly, a presence locked onto his and he clearly heard, "Come to us, son."

Shemric woke later with a headache and an image of a place burned into his thoughts. Nubia was not far at all from Cato Neimodia and within a day he was on the surface, using the swift ground transport to reach the place that he had seen. As he neared the farming settlement at the base of a small mountain range, his excitement grew.

The farming town used mostly heavy rail transport to ship its crop out but he was able to find the equivalent of a taxi and followed his mental map out to a large farm almost at the mountains' feet. Up on a hill was a house and he let himself out and began to walk down the road. There was a porch with a pavilion on the edge of the hill and from far away he could sense a woman watching there, waiting. As he neared she leaped over the porch's railing and began bounding down the hill towards him. He found himself running to her and as she neared he saw the face of his mother, of course. They embraced and wept, neither of them able to say a word, but rather they basked in the warmth of their mutual Force-connection that had multiplied in strength, close up.

"We have been waiting for you, Shem," she said finally.

"Today, or for years, do you mean?" he asked. She was older, of course, but looked much like he remembered.

"Both, of course," she said. "Well, we hoped you would find your way back to us. Sometimes Jedi fully inculcate their ways and in that case you would have shunned us out of fear of _attachment_." Her tone clearly indicated what she thought of that philosophy. "Why _have_ you come?"

"I have questions," he said, "but really, I needed a break. I need some time to think. I just did something I did not like at all, but felt like I had to do."

"Those situations always create doubt," she said. "Would you like to tell me about it?"

Shemric felt such a rush of affection for her and felt like he truly had come home. It made him doubt everything the Jedi Order taught about attachment. How could this ... connection they shared possibly be a bad thing?

"Where are the others? How many others are there?" he asked.

"There are six of us at home, seven now, with you here," said his mother. "We had a boy not long after you left and then a baby girl two years ago."

Shemric quickly did the math in his head. "You waited eight years and then ten more years?" he asked.

His mother smiled and shook her head. "I needed another baby after we sent you away. Marioh was such a lively child and he helped us all heal. You father and I had some conflict about sending you off." She was silent and he noted she did not say whether she was in favor or against. "Then, a couple of years ago we just decided we wanted another one. It is hard when your baby grows up."

"So what is to keep you from just having more babies?" he asked.

"Well, you get old," said his mother. "Child-rearing is a young-man's sport. But your siblings have always helped. They love the baby and it is such a different experience with each one."

"So you do not have to change as many diapers?" he asked.

"Oh, no, not like that," said his mother. "I don't want my children to become little parents. Your father and I still do all the unpleasant stuff, but when the others are home little Eliahza has so much to do and there is so much interaction."

Eliahza, his sister, and Shemric had never met her. "Do you tell her about me?" he blurted out. It was silly, he thought, but he would not have wanted to be left out of the family memories.

His mother only smiled, "Of course we do. You should meet her soon; she is taking a nap. The others are coming down out of the mountains."

"What do they do there?" he asked.

"We train them in the ways of the Force," she said. "They go camping. It lets them practice without having to exercise so much caution."

"Why did you all move?" he asked as they walked up the path to the house.

"There were too many memories of you at the old place," she said. "Your father and I finally decided we needed something new. The Force led us to this place. We have been very happy here. Come, let us sit on the porch and chat.

When they were comfortable, his mother invited him to start wherever he chose. Now that she was finally there to ask questions, Shemric was not sure where to start.

"Why don't you start with your lady-friend and we can go from there," she suggested.

Shemric started. "How did you know I had a 'lady-friend'?" he asked.

"Nothing causes such consternation in men as does the opposite sex," she said. "That seems pretty evident."

When he finished telling the story, he expected his mom to tell him that he was an idiot. Growing up, she had always been 'bad cop' to his father's 'good cop' routine. Instead she just sat on the other end of the bench and looked at him.

"So, do you think you went wrong somewhere?" she asked.

"I have no idea," said Shemric . "I entered into an amorous relationship with a Sith that had some domination overtones and was always tempestuous. I let her into my head! How can that be a good thing? As I sit here right now, separated from the situation, I think I must have been an idiot."

"You would hardly be the first to do that over a woman," she said, "but you are not so foolish as that. When the Force twists and twines your life with others it is a good idea to give some thought to the why of it. She is not just some girl-toy to you or you would not have to be agonizing over whether you did the right thing. You saw a Force-vision and you acted decisively. We did the same thing when we sent you to Coruscant. Hard decisions are …well, hard."

They laughed together and he was amazed how much his mother seemed older and wiser. He had only been gone a decade but she looked different. They talked about other things for a time before tousled two-year-old head peered around the corner. His mother's face transformed and her smile for the baby was glorious.

"Did you have a nice sleep, my baby?" she said and scooped the girl-child up into her arms. She turned to Shemric as the child was eyeing Shemric suspiciously. "Eliahza, meet your big brother, Shemric." His mother did not offer to let him hold her as Eliahza did not look like she wanted to be let go, but he did reach out a finger and let her wrap her hand around it. Once they were touching, he sent her soothing sensations of affection that seemed to please her.

For the next half-hour he and his mother laughed as Eliahza ran around the yard and played in the dirt.

"They are nearly home," said his mother after a time and within a few minutes his father and siblings rounded the house. His father outraced the others to embrace him tightly while the others gathered around. Shemric cried out about how big they had all grown.

When Shemric had left, he had been the 'big brother' and leader of the children; the person on whom his parents relied when they needed help. With his departure it had fallen to his sister Shaliah to take on that role and she had become a strong, independent woman who lived in the city and flew a transport for a living. She came home often, though and so had been on hand when Shemric had arrived. They were different people than they had been ten years earlier and they started from scratch to rebuild what they would mean to each other.

His younger Sister Nena was a quiet, intense young woman who said little but looked like she was recording everything in her mind. She did not say much to Shemric but when she did, she asked uncomfortable, penetrating questions that always caught him off-guard.

Marioh was like Shemric's shadow whenever he would allow it. His younger brother had apparently taken his parents' stories to heart and believe that Shemric was the greatest hero in the galaxy. It was fun, but Shem knew that he could never live up to a younger sibling's expectations. Still, he did his best to tell exciting stories and to practice with lightsabers as often as his brother wished.

His father had never been one to talk much and he seemed content to have his oldest son home and further satisfied that he had turned out to be a fine young man. He wanted his own turn at practicing sabers and with him, the mock battles were quite intense. After one such bout that Shemric had defeated him, his father groaned theatrically and claimed old age was his enemy.

"Does mom not give you a little extra healing now and then?" he asked in jest.

His father gave him a direct look. "I'm sure she does, but I cannot return the favor so I won't allow her to do anything overt."

"She is younger than you, Dad," point out Shem, "so why not let her even things up?"

"Because I do not really want to outlive her," said his father. "I don't think I could handle it."

"But then she will be alone," he pointed out.

"Well, your mother is stronger than I am," he said. "Or maybe I am just a coward. She certainly recognized there was an 'us' long before I did. Or so she claims."

"What do you mean?" he asked. They had both sat on a bench under a tree at the edge of the clearing where they had been practicing. His parents kept a particularly tall form of vegetable growing in this area so that it would cover their movement from unwanted eyes.

"Your mother claims she knew I was the one for her from the moment we met," said his father. His expression had taken a far-away cast and Shemric knew he was looking back in time. "She might be right. She has always been better at seeing the future than I have. But, still, she was a skinny 12-year-old at the time and I was a newly knighted and ambitious warrior, ready to go off and win fame in the war. I was _not at all_ happy to be assigned a Padawan, and especially not one who specialized in healing with limited martial skill."

"So what happened?" asked Shem quietly. He had tried to find out on a number of occasions in the temple, but no one would even acknowledge his question.

"We went off to the war and she proved very useful," said his father. "She worked very hard at improving her healing and her fighting skills, so I learned to put up with her. She never insisted on taking on missions she knew were too dangerous and she often got me back into fighting form after battles much more quickly than I could have ever done on my own. And then one day, she was not a bony 12-year-old anymore." His father was silent so long that Shem thought he was finished with the story. Eventually though, his father continued.

"We were on a deployment, fighting on some obscure planet that was barely inhabited," he said. "We were sent in to gather intel before the main body and had to masquerade as a normal couple for a time in the only city of any size that existed. Let's just say that she showed me the truth about our relationship. We were friends by then. In the beginning it was strictly Knight and Padawan, but as she became more competent and strong, the master/apprentice line blurred. It was not a great step to take from close friends to lovers when you have biology pushing you from one side and a determined woman from the other."

"What did she think you were going to do after that?" asked Shem.

"Oh, I suppose she intended to leave the Order," he said. "Not that she told me that in the beginning. Once she had me under her thumb, there was no real escaping for me."

"Do you think you could have been happy as a Jedi?" asked Shem.

His father turned to him and the glazed look was gone. "Are any Jedi really happy? Can you _be_ happy unless you are living the life we were meant to live?"

"You mean with a family?" Shemric said, but then continued on. "But if the Jedi did not hold themselves apart and serve the Republic, who would defend it from the Sith?"

His father smiled, but there was no humor in it. "I wonder sometimes if the Sith and Jedi have not caused as many problems as they have solved. Would the galaxy be better off without us?" He shook his head as if he was not sure of the answer.

The conversation troubled Shemric and his mother only smiled when he brought it up to her. Was that why he had struggled so hard to hold onto Julienne when it was becoming clear she was going to leave? He wanted what he had seen in his parents and somehow thought a Sith woman was the answer?

The subject of Julienne never came up with his father and his mother let it lie, but Nena was far too perceptive to let something like that get by her without comment. That she chose to bring it up over dinner caused Shem no small amount of consternation.

"So when are the rest of us going to hear about this Sith woman of yours, Shemric?" she asked idly one day while passing him the bread basket. His mother's eyes widened momentarily and then she gave him an almost imperceptible shake to say that she was not the one who had told. His father nearly dropped the meat plate he had been passing and Marioh started bouncing in his chair.

"You have a girlfriend you did not mention?" said his young brother in his rapid-fire speech. "And she is a Sith. How in the world did you meet a Sith? Wait, is she the one from Taris? Did you meet her again and not tell about it? Why are you all trying to 'shush' me?"

The scene around the table was so comical that Shemric had to laugh. His mother and father looked very apprehensive, his brother's face was alight with curiosity, his middle sister's face was so bland that he thought she must be laughing inside and his baby sister was happily mauling a roll oblivious to the tension in the air.

"Yes, Marioh, I have a Sith girlfriend," he admitted and everyone's eyebrows at the table rose in surprise. "And I may have failed to mention, she was the same Sith who came to assassinate me on Balmorra."

"No way!" said Marioh. "You never said it was a _girl_!"

"I'm fairly sure it was a woman, Marioh," said Nina with that ever-neutral expression. Now he was sure she was laughing at him, even before she winked.

"Are we going to meet her? Is she going to come and see us? Does she wear all black? I can't believe you left that out of your story."

"Enough, Marioh, let Shem eat in peace," said his father, but he was giving Nina the stern look, not Marioh. She smiled sweetly and went back to eating her vegetables.

After a few weeks it felt like Shemric had been seamlessly integrated into the family workings and he felt comfortable and secure there, but unsatisfied. When Shem had been on Nubia for a month, he found himself sitting on the porch alone with his mother again.

"Are you going to go back to the Jedi?" she asked after a time. "I hear they moved to Tython after the Temple was destroyed." She had a pained expression; it had been her home for a long time. "The new Grand Master is Satele Shan, who rediscovered the planet after thousands of years. I always liked her. That she has become Grand Master so young speaks to her skills and reputation."

"I am glad I came, but I do not think my place is here," he said. She nodded, agreeing with him. "So yes, I guess it is off to Tython for me."

"You do not have to leave immediately," she said. "Your siblings are just coming to know you."

"And I them, really," he said. "They are … fun. I dreamed about them so many times when I was lonely."

"We were all lonely, to some degree, at the Temple," said his mother. "I made a few friends here and there, but, well, we yearn for the very thing they try to discourage. It creates internal conflicts."

"But no one but you two acted on them," he pointed out.

"Oh, you would be surprised how many Jedi had tempestuous affairs over the years," she said. "You cannot deny nature forever without cracking on occasion. They just get hushed up and swept under the table."

"Like you guys; no one wanted to talk about you," he said. "Even the ones who clearly were fond of you."

"Exactly," she said. She was quiet for some time. "I am glad you came, Shem. Sending you off was the hardest thing we have ever done. I wanted you to be happy and the Temple was not really that kind of place for me. I am glad that you found something, but also came back to us—at least for a time."

"I am not sure Dad likes the fact that I can defeat him with a lightsaber," said Shemric.

His mother laughed. "No; no, he does not, and yet he is proud and satisfied for you at the same time. You are both too competitive by half. Testing himself against you is his way of proving to himself he is not old."

"He still wins a few times," pointed out Shemric. "And if it was a real fight, he would crush me with his other Force capabilities. He is certainly as strong as any of the masters I have met."

"That is about the only benefit of getting old," she said. "You can make up some of the loss with use of the Force. It just comes at a cost."

"Like everything else," said Shemric as he thought of Julienne's face and bruised neck when he had left her lying in the med station on the Sith craft.

"Your Sith lady will be fine, Shem," said him mother, reading his thoughts. "You trained her to be very good. If she could hold her own against you then she _is_ very good. Surrender and have a little faith."

She put her hand over his and they sat for a long time, thinking.


	13. Chapter 13

**Tython-3648**

The journey to Tython was not long, but he had insisted to himself that he must visit the ruins of the Temple on Coruscant first. It had been a haunting scene. The damage to the capital city had been extensive enough that no one had touched the rubble at the Temple and he wondered if they would. The tale around the city was that it was now populated with the ghosts of dead Jedi.

Shemric had walked the grounds for more than an hour before he bid goodbye to the place and took a taxi to the spaceport. Tython itself was a very sparsely populated planet and the temple was one of the only stops the shuttle made. They did not really make civilian flights there; you had to wait for a supply shuttle headed down to the surface.

Eventually, though, he found himself at the new temple and for a time he simply walked about to get a feel for the place. He managed not to meet anyone he knew, or at least, they did not recognize him. He wondered if Balmorra had changed him so very much. He finally made his way to the Grand Master's offices and politely requested a few minutes. Shem ended up waiting for the better part of an hour before she would see him, so he meditated on calmness and tried not to think about his future.

When he was shown into her office, she greeted him warmly at the door. Satelle Shan was an attractive older woman with dark hair and penetrating eyes. Her smile for him seemed genuine and she apologized for making him wait so long.

"My executive assistant sometimes makes people wait just to see if they have the patience to sit," she explained before offering him a seat. "You seem to have passed her test."

"Thank you for seeing me, Grand Master," he said. "I would like to report on events on Balmorra and see if there is still a way forward for me in the Order."

"I have heard a number of things about Balmorra from my contacts, Shem, but one must sift through what they report," she said. "I have also spoken with Master Panarch about your taking leave of him." Shemric shifted uncomfortably but the grand master went on. "More importantly, I have spoken with no fewer than three Republic soldiers from the 924th who escaped Balmorra back to their families. So, before you begin, know that I find your actions on Balmorra to be quite exemplary and in keeping with our Jedi mission."

Shemric's relief seemed obvious and Satelle smiled encouragement as he began his tale. She asked very few questions and for the most part, did not interrupt except when Shemric was trying to awkwardly explain around some events related to Julienne.

"You need not dissemble with me, Shemric," said Shan. "I have also heard rumor of your … personal scout."

She said it in a completely neutral voice, but Shemric suspected she knew more than she was letting on. As such, he told the rest of the story as starkly as possible and then finished by saying he visited his family on Nubia.

Shan regarded him for some time without speaking. She had seemed like she had made a decision before he arrived and was now reconsidering, whether for good or bad.

"You present me with a bit of a quandary, Padawan Shemric," she said. "Overall, your actions saved hundreds of lives and most of the word that has filtered back has been reflected quite positively on the Order. On the other hand, you continue to be a bit of an … oddity within the Order for some of your past associations and actions. Were it up to me, I would make you a Knight and have done with it. Others may disagree. You have not really expressed your wishes yet."

Shem was ready for that question. "I think I can continue to serve in the Order, if the Order wishes me to do so," he said. "Balmorra taught me a great deal about leadership that I would not have learned in any other way. I know we are not really at war right now, but … well, conflict is always right around the corner."

"In that, we agree perfectly, Shemric," she said. "There will be some discussion on the matter and in the meantime, you are free to use Temple resources as you need. I will try to help the council reach a decision that is best for you."

"Thank you for your time, Grand Master," he said, bowing out.

It took him several hours to acquire a small room with bedding and by then he was ready for lunch. He was really unsure of his status, but he decided to err on the side of caution and eat with the Padawans. As such, he looked out of place, more so now that he was in his twenties. It was even more obvious now after nearly four years of fighting that he had very little in common with the bright-faced, naive younglings that chattered amongst themselves as they ate. He filled his tray and sat alone until the first familiar face of the day sat down across from him. It was a boy named Hosum, a near-humanoid with light blue skin who had shared classes with Shem years ago.

"So the legend returns," he said excitedly.

Shemric sighed. He looked so young, even if he was probably a foot taller than Shem remembered. Hosum wanted to hear stories, of course, and it became evident once Hosum had sat that others could as well, so that soon there was a crowd of young Padawans listening to Shemric's stories. He told them as starkly as possible, without embellishment, but the younglings just ate it up faster than they were their meals.

It was a relief to escape back to his room where he gave some thought to what he would do if they did not make him a Knight. He thought he might go back to Nubia for a longer stay, or maybe … he really did not know. He did not have a plan for post-Jedi Order life. Whenever he was troubled, he found that he needed exercise, so he dressed and went looking for the stairs that were inevitable in any building of this size. With a little exploration, he found the stairwell that run up the outside of the building from bottom to top. It was a little disorienting as you rose higher and higher up the side of the temple on the stairway that had only a small rail to the outside. Shemric stayed next to the wall and did not meet up with anyone until he had reached the very top. The land spread out below him in its stark grandeur and the sunset was full of colors from all areas of the spectrum.

After exhaustion set in, Shemric decided not to brave the chow hall again, but found the small after-hours kitchen that had food available at all times of the day. It was not always fresh and sometimes had to be reheated, but it was filling and prevented him from having to tell any more tales. Shemric spent as much time as possible in the library to avoid having to tell any more stories. And he had missed the resources that were available there.

It should have been nerve-wracking to be waiting with your fate in the hands of others, but Shem's visit to his family had filled him with a sense of peace. They would make their decision and then he would make his own.

After finishing the lunch meal, he left the chow hall and there was a man waiting for him. His hair was slightly gray, but he looked very fit and his eyes glinted dangerously. Shemric was instantly alert. His former master did not look happy at all.

"So, you have returned," he said. "And clearly not being disciplined in any way, despite your disobeying my orders in a combat zone. In some cases, they would call that treason and you would be executed.

"I never disobeyed an order from you, sir," said Shemric quietly. "I simply left."

"The order was implied and obvious!" said Master Panarch. He stood and squared his shoulders, looking down at Shemric with a face full of fury. "That fight was finished. We had other future battles to concern us."

Shemric had always been a little scared of Panarch in the days he had been placed under his command, but years more of fighting on Balmorra, and his near-constant conflict with Julienne, had changed him. He was aware of the other man's strength in the Force, but he was no longer intimidated.

"Master Panarch, you taught me to follow the Force and let it guide me even as I tried to use it effectively," said Shemric calmly. "That day … it felt right. Men and women survived and some made it back to their families because of what I did. It was my path."

Panarch's severe expression began to soften as he looked at his old apprentice. "You still embrace too much of the Dark Side, Shemric. I can feel the odd balance you keep. Be very careful." There was an implied threat.

"That also, I learned from you, Master," said Shemric. "Using my anger to fuel my purpose."

Panarch blew out a long breath and suddenly looked older. "That day haunts me," he said, so quietly Shem could barely hear. "I did not like leaving but returning meant death, or so I thought. I wanted to live to see the Empire defeated. I would have done anything for that. Instead, we were defeated." He shook his head. "If half of what I hear is true, you did well. Very well. I should be congratulating you instead of berating you, but I was so angry for a time. You were a very good tool and I was not happy to lose you." Panarch stood silently for so long that Shem wondered if he had forgotten there was anyone else there until he shook himself and regarded Shem once again. "I recommended you for Knighthood. With Master Shan's backing and a few others it was approved against the protests of some. Your Trials were longer than most." He put out his hand and Shemric took it in surprise. Knighthood! Officially. Finally.

"Thank you, sir," said Shem. He could not think of anything else to say. It had been a long time coming.

 **End Part 1**


	14. Chapter 14

**3646-Coruscant**

Shemric knew it was going to be one of those days when he woke and realized that Juju was on Coruscant. She must have arrived while he was sleeping or he would have noted the proximity earlier. Or she had just masked her presence from him until she wanted him to know she was there. He decided he was not going to go to work as usual. The senator would just annoy him and well … with Julienne there, he did not really care.

When he looked in the mirror, though, he was not overwhelmed. His scraggily beard and un-kept hair would not impress her and—he had to admit to himself-he wanted to impress her. He went off to his local barber and had it cut to 'fighting length' as he thought of it and had the man shave him with the laser razor while he was at it. He could feel her even closer now but she did not seem to be moving. Well, he would just have to go to her. Public transportation took him in the direction he sensed her and then a short taxi ride took him to the block.

She abruptly disappeared in the Force and Shem stopped dead in surprise. A man, or rather a Rodian who smelled of drink, bumped into him and cursed him before moving along. He started walking again and became slowly aware that someone had fallen in step with him. He glanced sideways and nearly stopped again.

"Keep moving," said Juju in a low voice. She was dressed like a 3-D starlet or a fashion model and it was all he could do to keep his eyes off her. The black dress ended abruptly mid-thigh and her long legs seemed to go on forever until they reached her black stiletto heels. The jacket she wore might have made her look like a businesswoman if her dress was just a bit longer. Her hair was fashionably coifed and she was wearing makeup that made her eyes and lips stand out. "Well, are you going to say something?" she asked, and raised an eyebrow at him. "Years apart and now you stand there like a bantha chewing its cud when your yum-yum shows up."

"My yum-yum?" he said. He had never heard that one before though the meaning was fairly clear.

"Never mind," she said, shaking her head. She lifted her arms and pirouetted in a very un-Julienne-like fashion. "Now would be the time for compliments."

It was yet another example of her ability to keep him off-balance. All he could do was laugh, which was very likely what she intended.

"Should I be worried that you are here on Coruscant?" he asked idly as they continued walking side by side. She was still hard to sense as if she was keeping her thoughts, feelings and emotions to herself.

"I don't know; I come here all the time," she said, smiling. He did stare at her for a few moments until she turned away. "When have I ever popped into your life and not caused you trouble?"

"True enough," he said. "What trouble are you going to cause this me this time?"

"Oh, a little here, a little there," she said. "I was thinking we might take a little trip into the Unknown Regions."

"Really?" he said. "Can I ask why? You hardly look dressed for an expedition." She was moving in a deliberate direction and so he kept pace with her.

 _I am dressed to impress, you idiot, she said._ It was not hard at all for her to slip into his head. _And to blend in here. A man's_ yum-yum _should always look the part, even in the sophisticated areas of Coruscant._

 _What does that mean, he asked?_

 _Oh, nothing, she said. And to answer your question, Darth Malgus is causing some consternation to the Dark Council and Master Acina wants me to go and cause him some trouble in return._

"And why would I help you do that?" he asked, out loud.

"Because Malgus is invading and subjugating numerous worlds there and killing a lot of beings?" she replied. "And would you not like a chance to destroy the man who wrecked your Temple and caused so much ill will to the Jedi Order?"

He snorted. "Sometimes _I_ have ill will towards the Jedi Order," he mumbled.

She said nothing. She knew he would think about it and decide where his interests lay. The mere fact that she was here surprised him. The Jedi no longer had a base on the capital planet and she would have known that. He wondered if she could sense his discontent with his present assignment from half-way across the galaxy and come looking for him.

She smiled that knowing smile and he wanted to kick her. Or kiss her. More than two years had passed since he had left her unconscious on a ship orbiting Kashyyyk with burns and bruises all over her body. She had been so angry at him then and he had never understood it. Now she acted like all that was behind them.

 _Because it is, dear_ , she said in his mind. _I have no sore feelings over the way things ended, do you?_

 _Yeah! I do_ , he returned back. _You ruined our battle plan and I had to beat you into submission to keep you from killing me._

 _There was more going on there than you understand_ , she said. It almost sounded like a plea. _And I would never have killed you any more than you would have killed me._

He just grunted. It was silly arguing with her. He knew why it had been necessary in ways that she did not. He also knew he was going to go wherever she led until she saw fit to leave him again. It was like a hypermetro wreck you knew was going to happen but you still boarded the car anyway.

 _Then why fight it, s_ he asked?

 _Would you get out of my head! he said angrily._

Her carriage stiffened visibly.

"Fine, stay here in your miserable little job," she said. "Go stop a few muggings every night and let the holonets call you a hero. I will be on my way." She turned and walked away from him and he wondered if she was bluffing. That self-assured walk was so familiar, but it was distracting considering what she was wearing.

 _Stop staring at my ass_ , she said.

If there was a mental equivalent to a snort, he made one then and he thought she smiled in return.

 _What_ are _you_ wearing, _he asked?_

 _It is my yum-yum suit,_ she said and he could sense the humor in her reply _. I bought it just for you._

 _What does that even mean, he asked again testily?_

 _Follow me and find out!_

Her rapidly retreating, highly attractive backside was about to turn a corner and he shook his head. It was starting again. The head shaking and the assumptions that he would just follow.

 _Do I need to come back and persuade you, she asked?_

 _Oh, please, you persuaded me the moment you stepped on this planet_ , he said.

 _So why not just follow and stop complaining, she asked?_

She took him to a booth in a swank diner for which he felt underdressed and she looked right at home. He leaned over and she accepted a kiss on the cheek but then grabbed his hair for a much more intimate exchange that heated his face and sent his heart to racing. Shemric decided to sit on the opposite side of the booth.

"Nice to see you, too, honey," he began.

The waitress approached and eyed Shemric and Julienne skeptically. Likely she thought Shemric was not appropriately dressed and Juju's outfit was borderline scandalous.

 _She thinks you are a call girl since I am so clearly not in your league, pointed out Shemric._

 _And do I not come when you call, she asked, smiling?_

 _I think you have that backwards._

 _Besides, she said, I think we decided the term is yum-yum._

Shemric snorted and the waitress looked at him oddly. They ordered an appetizer and water all the while continuing to speak to each other. Julienne appeared to do it effortlessly but Shemric really had to concentrate.

 _I came to you on Balmorra, she said._

 _You were sent to kill me, he said._

 _Oh, yeah, well, that worked out well for both of us, she said. My master was quite pleased and you are a Knight now._

 _You may be forgetting a few details along the way, he said._

 _Oh? You mean our little spat. I barely remember it._

Shemric was not sure if he was irritated or amused that she brushed it off.

 _You came looking for me the moment you sensed me here on Coruscant, she pointed out._

 _The moment you_ let _me sense you, he sulked._

 _Yes, well, I had business to finish and you were the last of it, she said. I told you I was glad to see you._

 _Oh, sure, you spent all kinds of time confessing your undying love to me, he said._ Sometimes he would have just like to have a normal relationship.

 _And you feel like that shows that I am not committed to this relationship?_ _You do not really believe that all of this is coincidence, do you?_ The look she gave him said that the wrong answer here would set off a firestorm.

 _Well, no, you have mentioned how you have seen Force-visions that have shaped some of what you do,_ he said. He sensed that there was more to this than he was seeing and just because they were in a public place would not prevent her from dealing out a mental tongue lashing. Apparently she was less than satisfied with his lukewarm response.

 _I HAVE SPENT MOST OF THE LAST FEW YEARS WORKING WITH THE SOLE PURPOSE THAT YOU AND I HAVE A FUTURE TOGETHER!_ Shemric actually recoiled at the fury of her sending. _I SPEND HOURS MEDITATING, SURFING THE FORCE TIMESTREAM TRYING TO GLEAN OUT A FEW CLUES TO GUIDE US; YOU HAVE NO IDEA!_ Shemric's mouth worked up and down but he could not think of anything to say. She had never really talked about it. _BECAUSE I CANNOT TELL YOU WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN OR IT WILL AFFECT THE TIMESTREAM!_

Shemric reached across the table to take her hand. When she tried to pull it back, he held it in an iron grip until she relaxed again.

"Can we stop shouting and discuss it?" he asked calmly.

 _I WANT TO SHOUT! YOU MAKE DUMBASS COMMENTS LIKE YOU JUST DID AND YOU SOMEHOW ASSUME THAT BECAUSE I DO NOT SPEND MY TIME SPOUTING MY ETERNAL DEVOTION TO YOU THAT I AM NOT COMMITTED TO_ US _. WELL, YOU ARE WRONG!_

"I get it; I apologize, and you are correct," he said. "I have made incorrect assumptions in the past. Please explain it to me." He sent his most subtle, calming feelings toward her along their link.

 _Stop that! I am not some pet animal you can soothe with a few gentle sendings._ Shem stopped immediately and she glared at him while he tried to put on his most contrite expression. Her glare softened and she shook her head. _Well, it hardly matters now. We are in the middle of the game and the pieces are falling into place. I will try to explain this in a way you can understand. My mentors in the Academy did not fully comprehend what I was doing so do not expect to come out of this anything but confused._

She looked at him, but he knew speaking was out of the question, so he simply nodded. He felt a sense of foreboding that something was about to be explained that he would find discomfiting.

 _You have no idea. Well, here goes. When I was about 14 or 15, I started to see visions while I was sleeping. It took a certain state of consciousness to achieve and I could not do it on my own in the beginning. They just came to me and I remembered some things. Future possibilities are too great for any mortal mind to comprehend, so you cannot imagine how confused I was in those years. My teachers grilled me incessantly on the visions until they were satisfied that I was of no use to them and then they left me to my own devices._

 _They had concluded, you see, that my visions were very personal and not useful on the broader stage of Sith politics. When that became apparent they sent me back to normal training. So I tried to ignore them. And then I met you. A lot of things that happened on Taris had been presaged in my visions, so that when the moment came I was able to act quickly. The visions have kept me alive and guided me down through the years to be here and now._

 _Wow, how do you live knowing so much of what is going to happen?_ he asked, curious.

 _I do not see_ everything _,_ she said _. Only glimpses of this and that which come back to me when I need them. Knowing your future in every aspect and great detail would be maddening. And there is one other rather important detail; I have never seen you in any vision at any time._

He blinked, watching her in surprise.

 _You see the difficulty? I try to make decisions to help us and yet, you are always transparent to me. Oh, certainly now, we are so closely connected that even when you are not in my vision, I sense your proximity, but that was not obvious in the beginning. It was not until Balmorra that I made the connection. I saw visions of Taris when you saved me, when we fought the alchemist dogs, even when we fought my master, but they did make any sense because the parts I saw were only times when you were not in my field of sight. After Taris I gave them little thought because again, I did not ever see you in my future. When I went to Balmorra, I thought that I would take a lover but not until I saw you sitting behind the desk did it all come crashing down on my awareness._

She stopped and stared off over his shoulder for a moment. Her mind was very closed to him at these times. She did not allow snooping around in her memories.

 _It was like looking at a puzzle where you only saw half the pieces and you are trying to figure out the picture. On Balmorra, I began to understand that you were the other, unseen half of the puzzle that I had to fill in on my own. The better I came to know you, the better I could fill in the gaps._ She stopped again for a while. _It has not been a perfect system. Things happened on Balmorra that I did not see or expect and our last fight especially was very confusing. I saw myself entering that building. I knew I would fight someone but I never thought it would be you._

 _Before that fight on Balmorra was the only time I have ever seen a Force-vision, he said._

She looked at him very sharply and spoke out loud, such was her surprise. "Tell me what you saw!"

He reached and took her hand again. _Let me see if I can show you._ Shem pulled her gently into his consciousness and took her back to the briefing and the realization that Julienne was sabotaging the plan and his anger and frustration and how that had quickened his Force-awareness enough to prompt the vision. The actual vision was exactly the same blur that the first had been. Events, places, decisions came and went faster than the human mind could resolve them but the specifics were still there; the future that he wanted to happen. When it was over Julienne sat back, eyes wide with a stunned expression on her face.

She was so surprised that she spoke out loud again. "That was nothing like I have ever seen. Did you actually pick out one specific thread and follow it all the way back to the present?"

"I think that is what I did," he said.

She shook her head. "How useful would that be… ? I tried something similar, once I had gained a little control and it never worked. I saw what I was shown and I could not direct or refine it in any way. How many of these have you seen?" Shemric was not sure, but there seemed to be a little envy in her voice.

"Just that one," he admitted and her eyes widened.

 _Well, is that not interesting?_ she said, back in his head again _. Your vision and mine directly contradicted each other. I saw myself, defeating you there. Well, not you specifically, but whomever I was fighting._ She stopped and her eyes went glassy as if she was digesting all the possible meanings that knowledge might provide. The stare went on so long he wondered if she was seeing something right then. When she came back, she blinked several times and then looked at him with surprise. _I think you may have just provided me with another piece in the puzzle. It seems to me that my wishes can color some of the visions to look the way I want them to look. I think I wanted to defeat you so much that I was skewing the things I saw in that direction._

Again she stopped and appeared to be lost in thought. This time her inactivity went on so long that Shemric decided to scoot around to her side in the booth and act like he was whispering into her ear when the waitress came back with their food. Shem was not sure that the woman was entirely convinced, but she did not ask any more questions. It was another five minutes before Julienne started and looked around in surprise.

 _That was so weird,_ she said. _I do not think that has ever happened before._

 _What did happen?_ he asked.

 _Well, the first time I was comparing how your vision and mine differed and were similar. When I had the thought that maybe my wishes were coloring my visions, I started to rehash many old things that I have seen and try to analyze them without personal bias. It changes a lot. Wow._ She shook her head again and met his eyes. "You were not trying to take advantage of my person when I was not paying attention, were you?"

"I was trying to keep the waitress from thinking you were a kook as you stared into space," he mumbled.

"What is a kook?"

"Crazy," he said and made a motion with his finger around his head. That drew a blank stare as well. "Never mind," he said, shaking his head. _Please go back and explain something. You said you had been trying to work out a future for us. What does that mean?_

 _It seems that you affect my visions in some way that I cannot foresee,_ she said. _On Balmorra, as we became close, the things I saw began to change. That is not uncommon but they were changing in substantial ways. There were things that I very clearly had to do and they became more and more clear._

 _Like what?_ Shem asked.

 _For one thing, had we left Balmorra together, we would have had a few relatively happy years and then been gone, she said._

 _Gone how? he asked._

 _I do not know; just gone, she said. There were no more futures that led to more life. None. We had to part there in order to make it here. At the time it was a mystery, but now I believe there is something else going on. I need to become a Sith Lord; Darth Monikas. You needed to go to the new Jedi Temple on Tython._

"Let us leave. All these new revelations are giving me a headache."

"Yes, let us …" he said, but before he got up, he tipped her chin up to meet his eyes. _Thank you. For working so hard for us. I will not take it lightly again._

 _Well, do not thank me yet, she said. We have a lot of work to do. At least, I do not see a lot of possible futures that lead to happiness for the two of us._

 _Well, maybe I distort things too much for you to see clearly, he suggested._

Her expression brightened. _That is true! It has probably always been true. Well, there is nothing for it but to keep on._ They stood after leaving credit chips on the table. _You need to go and gather anything you need. Come find me when you are ready._ She leaned in and kissed him rather thoroughly and then disappeared into the crowd outside the restaurant.

It took Shemric more than an hour to return home and the first thing he did was pack his things in a satchel. He did not have many belongings and it did not take long. He next sent a message to Grand Master Shan to let her know something had come up and he would be away from Coruscant indefinitely. If they needed a representative they would need to send a new Jedi. He was not sure if she would be disappointed in him or amused. She had supported him two years earlier when he had returned from his nearly five year absence, though reports of his exploits on Balmorra had become known as Republic soldiers who had left the world filtered back into the Republic. In the end, she had been the deciding vote as to whether or not to admit him back into the Order and what his status might be. They had made him a Knight and then promptly sent him to the capital. For most of two years he had been a glorified messenger boy, and made numerous voyages back and forth from Tython to the capital carrying word.

Most of the Jedi Council members thought it was a punishment, but Shan had confided in him before leaving that she trusted him to stay free of politics and hoped he would be able to give her good advice about what was going on in Galactic Center. Despite not having any duties that kept him remotely busy, he would definitely miss Captain Greggson and helping out the local police. Greggson had told him if he were one of his people, he would have been decorated many times over for his exploits.

A quick message to the captain tied up one loose end and then he informed Senator Meacher that he had been called away with an indefinite return date. Meacher would be furious, but the two of them had never gotten along well, so he really did not care. In truth, the two years he had spent here had confirmed to him that his future did not include the Order. Julienne was simply helping him make the decision. As such, he did not pack his Jedi robes or anything that connected him to the order. He used his funds from Senator Meacher to pay the rent for the rest of his lease, but he doubted it would matter. He was not coming back.

As he walked out of his apartment, he cast his sense of Julienne wider until he had a direction. From there it was just a matter of following until he caught up with her in a crowded shopping area.

She took his hand without comment and they went strolling along as if they were in no rush, occasionally glancing with glazed looks into each other's eyes. Shemric was not sure if she was leading him somewhere or if she was just wandering, hoping to throw any followers off their trail.

She suddenly steered him down a side street and they dodged into an alley a few moments later. _Up,_ she said, motioning with her head and she leaped for a balcony above and then onto the roof. He followed, impressed that she could maneuver so well in a dress and heals.

 _I wear many disguises lover-mine,_ she said, breaking into his thoughts. _Mastering the art of walking in high heels was not as hard as learning to fight you with a lightsaber. Plus, you sort of emit this low hum of pleasure around me whenever I wear them with a dress. I like it. You once compared it to warming your hands over a fire._ She was now walking briskly across the roof to a service entrance. When she tried the door and it was locked, she scowled. She walked to each edge of the roof and then went back to the one that was closest. She looked to be judging the distance and then reached into her purse, a beaded thing that looked expensive. She brought out a small device that looked like a cross between brass knuckles and a grapple.

Julienne looked quickly back and forth on the street and then took aim and a small compressed air charge shot out and arced across the street to wrap around a railing. She stepped up on the railing and pulled hard. When the line held, she held out a hand to him. _Hold on tight._

 _To you or the line? he asked, and stepped up next to her._

 _Me. I am going to have to play out the line so we swing down to that balcony there. Do not worry. I have done this before._ Shem wrapped his arms around her neck and jumped with her when she moved. It was altogether unsettling to be hurtling towards the side of a building and have no control over your trajectory. His stomach lurched several times as she played out the line, but true to her word, she put them comfortably on a balcony and they landed adeptly with only a small use of the Force to cushion their impact.

Julienne put the grapple back in her beaded bag, peered in through the sliding door and then keyed it open with another device. The family of four that was sitting at the table eating dinner looked at her with wide eyes as she walked through their apartment with a finger to her lips. Shemric mouthed " _Sorry_ ," quietly and then they were out the front door into a hallway.

Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, they followed a meandering course through the city that circled back onto itself once and required one more swing from building to building. This last was to a brightly lit building with hot tubs on the balconies. _Here is our hotel,_ she said, smiling. _We will not be taking the elevator._ Shemric saw goggling partiers eyeballing them as they swung the short distance from what was one hotel to the other and then they were calmly dropping onto yet another balcony. The very drunk man in the hot tub lifted his drink in salute and the two women with him giggled.

Once into the hallway, Julienne checked her hair and make-up in a mirror, gave him a radiant smile and then took his hand to stroll down the hallway casually. They went up and down three elevators until she led him to a door with the number 5687 on it.

She did not pull out a room key card, but inserted her device that opened the door nonetheless. _The room is registered to someone else. They are not supposed to check in until tomorrow but their reservation includes tonight, so they will be surprised when they show up and find out someone already checked in for them. But, I did pay for the rest of their days, so they should not complain too much._ She swung open the door with a huge smile and Shemric understood why when he stepped inside. It was a honeymoon suite full of flowers, tasteful pink and red furnishings, a large hot tub and an enormous bed.

 _You just wanted a large bed so we did not fall out in the middle of wrestling,_ he accused.

Her eyes twinkled and she went straight to the bed and flopped down on her back. _I think it is time for you to work some of your healing magic on me. Wearing heels is hard on your legs and feet._

"I am sure I can help with that," he said. He removed both her shoes but took her right leg first and started to work his thumb down her arch. She moaned in pleasure as he continued to work on her feet. His heightened affinity for healing made the process even more effective, so that when he had finished with both feet she gave him such an expression of gratitude that he could not help but laugh.

"Why is that so funny?" she asked. "I am telling you, you could make a fortune at any expensive hotel just by giving foot massages."

"Well, at least I know I have a paying future," he said.

"Indeed," she nodded and then rose off the bed and reinserted her feet in her heels. With them she was looking at him eye level. "Were you a proper Devaronian, you would know what to do with your yum-yum, but as you are not, I will show you."


	15. Chapter 15

"I thought they were called the Unknown Regions for a reason," he noted as she was setting their hyperspace course. She had taken him to a small, but serviceable ship built as a high-speed luxury transport but on the inside was actually a weapon-smuggling vessel. All the luxury seats, tables and amenities had been removed to make way for cargo.

"Well, I bribed a navigator from Malgus' last jump to tell me where he went," she said. "Some of the Dark Council just want him away from Dromund Kaas and some wish he would just disappear completely. Instead he is looking for new worlds to conquer and he has been grinding his way through the Unknown regions. Recently he found a place way out on the end of the spiral arm beyond know Sith space. The planet is called Belkadan and we are taking the Hydian all the way out to Ruuria. From there, we will have four or five short jumps before we arrive."

"So what are two people supposed to do there?"

"What does this ship look like?" she asked.

"It is a smuggler, obviously," he said.

"Yep, so we are going to smuggle," she said.

"And why did you need me for this?" he asked.

She feigned a hurt expression. "You mean you were not happy to see me?" He scowled at her, so she laughed and continued. "It is going to involve a lot of boring space travel. After my third run I decided I needed a partner." She gave him her most winning smile. "Thanks for coming, partner." He shook his head at her. "What? I spent 18 months on that miserable Balmorra for you. You cannot come and help out your yum-yum?"

"Are you going to explain what that means?" he asked.

"It is a Devaronian word for lover," she said. "Actually, it is more like love-slave, but …" she shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh," he said. "Well … " and then could not think of something else to say.

"You do not think that is a proper description of our relationship?" she teased.

"Well, we _are_ friends," he said.

She snickered as she pulled back on the hyperdrive and the stars blurred. "Do you do what we did last night with any of your other friends?"

"No!"

"With _anyone_ else?"

"No!"

"Well there you go," she said. "That makes me your yum-yum."

"And does that make me _your_ yum-yum?" he asked.

Now she really laughed. "No," she said. "Yum-yum is a decidedly sexist term."

"And why does it amuse you to use it?" he asked

"I don't know; I just find it funny," she said. "I cut off the arm of the last guy who called me yum-yum, but I will not do that to you." She glanced over at him. "Oh, I am sorry, does that make you uncomfortable? Will you feel better if I tell you he was aiming a blaster at me?"

"A little," he admitted.

"Well, he was," she said. "It was purely self-defense."

Shemric almost shook his head until he realized if he did that every time she unnerved him then he was going to get a kink. So he just sighed.

He wanted to ask her so many things as they lay in the dark and talked about the preceding years. Well, he had talked. She had been very closed-mouthed on the subject. He sensed that she was holding back things he would not like to hear. If that was the case, he doubted she wanted him to ask her why she felt like they were such a match for each other when they were together. So he kept those thoughts to himself, as hard as that was around her.

"Stop thinking so much," she said to his back. "Tomorrow will get here when it gets here. Just go to sleep." He laughed silently to himself and snuggled more closely to her warm front side. He may as well take her advice since she was not going to talk anymore that night.

 **Ruuria**

"I told you the journey would go by quickly," she said as they were again sitting in the pilot and navigator stations. She seemed smug.

He snorted loudly. It had taken a number of days to reach Ruuria along the Hydian way, but Julienne had made it her duty to try and fulfill her yum-yum role to the greatest extent possible.

"So Ruuria is hardly an interstellar hub of illicit weapons sale; why are we here?" he asked.

"My master is sending the shipments out from this location," she said. "No one pays attention to this place and it is the jumping off point to the Unknown Regions."

They were dressed as ship pilots and ragged ones at that, so no one noticed them as they made their way through the small spaceport to a restaurant where they were to meet their contact for the run. The person was already there waiting, a Ruurian with its feathered head fluttering.

"It is most excellent to see you again, Ms. Qually," the insect-like creature began. She glanced at Shemric and did not continue until Julienne nodded. "I noted your arrival and loading of items began shortly after you left your ship. By the time you have finished a meal at this most excellent diner, all should be ready."

"The usual?" asked Julienne.

"Indeed," said the Ruurian. "And my payment."

"The usual," said Julienne.

The Ruurian made what Shemric assumed was a sign of pleasure and thanked Julienne before moving off on its fourteen legs.

"So that is all?" asked Shemric.

"No, now we enjoy a meal," she said. "It really is a decent diner and I am tired of ships food."

"Agreed," said Shemric.

"And our next contact will meet us here as well," she said as she perused the menu.

Halfway through eating, a rather ordinary looking human woman with dark hair and an angular face, joined them and greeted Julienne warmly. At least it appeared that way on the surface; Shemric could tell there was tension between the two.

"Do you have the weapons?" said the woman without preamble.

"They are being loaded," said Julienne. "Do you have a location for me?"

"The coordinates are the same as the last run," said the woman. Shemric thought the woman was waiting for something, an argument or explosion of some kind from Julienne. Instead, Julienne simply took another bike of food before answering.

"You know I will not go to the same place twice," she said mildly and then continued eating. Shemric doubted she would be so casual if she saw the look of fire in the other woman's eyes, but then it occurred to him that she might be using Shemric's watchfulness to her advantage. Julienne kept eating while tension mounted in the other woman.

"We cannot find an unlimited number of landing locations that fit your criteria!" she whispered rather fiercely. "The last shipment took nearly a week to reach our freedom fighters."

Julienne shrugged as if to say, "That is not my problem." The woman's face reddened.

"We are prepared to take the shipment ourselves, then," she said eventually. "We will pay the same amount, minus your shipping cost."

Julienne gave her a flat look. "That is not how this works. If I just release the shipment to you it could end up anywhere." The Sith slapped a memory stick down on the table. "This is where I will be. Do not make me wait." Julienne finished her food and stood up, which was Shemric's cue to join her. The woman rose to her feet angrily and opened her mouth to speak…

"You will return to your friends and tell them that business was concluded," said Julienne.

"I will return to my friends and tell them that business was concluded," said the woman.

"Go now," said Julienne.

The woman turned and left.

Julienne watched her leave for a moment. "They are going to cause problems unless I make an example of someone soon," she mused. "Well, that is a problem for later. Let us go looking for a better sleeping mattress." They roamed about the spaceport looking for supplies and rented a hovercart to bring it all back to the ship. Loading it up was tricky as the ship had been crammed from top to bottom with well-secured cases. There was very little room to maneuver. In fact, you could not even access the back half of the ship. You had to unload from the front to back.

"Hopefully we do not have to make any repairs along the way," noted Shemric.

"I do not know anything about starships," said Julienne, "so it hardly matters."

"Quarters are going to be pretty tight; how you keep in shape?" he asked.

"Mostly the treadmill, but I cannot say as I really like it," she said. "I certainly never used it as much as you did on the run in to Ruuria."

"Well, I do not fancy running into Darth Malgus without being ready for him," said Shemric. "We are going to have to figure out something."

"How are we going to run into that nightmare?" she asked.

"You do not think he is going to come and look for us eventually?" asked Shemric. "I daresay he is not really thrilled with the opposition."

"It is a big planet with lots of forests," she said.

"Well, if I am going to be a part of this silliness, then we are going to train," said Shemric.

She shrugged. "What did you have in mind?"

Shemric stood thinking for a while and then asked Julienne for some credits that would not be traceable. "I will be back in a while," he said.

Shemric jogged off into the spaceport and went looking for a gaming store. Space travel could be boring and pilots ate, read books or played games. Shemric spent about thirty minutes asking for advice and then bought a gaming system with two virtual reality helmets and a console to power the games. He brought it all back and told Julienne he would explain once they were on their way.

With the ship crammed full of weapons, they had almost no room to roam any longer. What had seemed spacious with room to do some hand-to-hand sparring was now almost claustrophobic. They had the small cockpit with two chairs, the stewards space that was narrow enough he could touch both sides of the cabin and then the small exercise area that had a fold-up treadmill with a few machine weights that came out of the walls. Opposite the exercise area was the refresher which actually washed people and clothes with equal effectiveness and did not use any water. The doors were small enough you could not enter or leave at the same time. On the plus side, the food production was top notch as you would expect for a luxury yacht. They shared the captain's berth, which was really a single-wide bunk with enough headspace to sit up.

"That is going to be a tight fit," he noted when he saw the sleeping accommodation.

"Oh, do not complain," she teased. "It just means I cannot escape from you when you cannot keep your hands off me at night."

"True enough," he smiled and she smacked his hands away when he reached for her.

The first jump was supposed to last a little more than a day, so once they were in hyperspace, Shemric explained his plan.

"So we are going to play this virtual reality game together," he began. "It is just a first-person view shooting game that was recommended to me because it was realistic. I do not really care about the game mechanics as much as I do learning to work together and help each other without thinking about it."

She nodded at him as if she was considering that it might actually be a good idea. They sat on opposite ends of their bunk and faced each other with the helmets covering their faces and ears. The first few sessions were awkward; the helmets did not fit perfectly, nor were they very familiar with the controls or the game play. By the time they had made their fifth jump on the way to Belkadan, they were virtually running around, shooting and coordinating fire like they had been training together for years.

In the middle of one firefight, a recreation of the Battle of Alderaan, they actually had to fight Darth Malgus as the final boss fight. One of them had to play Jedi Setalle Shan and one the soldier, Jace Malcolm. By then they had mastered the game play well enough that it was not very difficult on normal mode, so once finished, they went back and tried it on the now-unlocked, highest-difficulty mode. After numerous failures, something happened half-way through the boss fight.

Shemric was playing as the soldier, trying to imagine where Julienne was going to attack and he felt himself sort of overlay himself on her awareness. Suddenly, he was looking out of her eyes and his own eyes at the same time. They had done something similar on Balmorra, but it had been years and they were disconcerted in the beginning. At first, it made their game play worse and they were kicked back to a restart several times.

 _This could be useful_ , she said tentatively.

 _Let us try this on another round_ , he suggested.

They began to play that segment of the game again, but their movements became so much better coordinated that they finished it without incident. It was almost comical how easy it was when you did not have to think about what the other person was doing. They began laughing and Shemric was not sure if he had started it or Julienne and then decided it did not matter. They felt a moment of disorientation as they 'detached' from each other and Shemric felt like he was slammed back into his own body with a resounding thud. He removed his VR helmet as she was doing the same and they just looked at each other without speaking for a few moments.

"That was … " he began.

"… remarkable," she finished for him. "Are we going to be … "

" … finishing each other's sentences now? That could get annoying."

"Well, at least we smashed Malgus," she said with a smile.

"I have a feeling the real one is going to be a lot more formidable," he said.

They discussed it as they came out of hyperspace above the large sphere of the planet Belkadan. From space it was green and blue with cloud systems like many planets that did not have climate controlled weather.

"The Empire cannot track all the incoming and outgoing traffic, but once we drop into the atmosphere things are going to get a little crazy," she said. "Sometimes they hail you, sometimes they may send ships after you and sometimes they ignore you completely."

"So how do you evade their tracking systems?" he asked.

"Oh, the same old ways that smugglers have been for time out of mind," she said. "You have to get below the level where the systems can pick you out; you have to be in the weeds, so to speak."

"Are you going to need me to do anything?" he asked.

"If we get fighters, I want you to angle the shields," she said. "And keep an eye on your side of the cockpit."

"Ok, when do we go?"

"Now," she said. "I hate waiting."

They dropped into the planet's atmosphere and within seconds, their long-range sensors lit up with small craft rising from the planet's surface.

"The sneaky buggers," said Julienne as she made course corrections. "They must have been waiting down there for a while just so they would be in a position to intercept. I guess we just became priority targets. Sith fighters, even." Julienne seemed pretty calm, but it was a foreign sensation to be under attack and have absolutely nothing useful to do. It quickly became apparent that the fighters were sorely outmatched as Julienne descended at speed to vector away from them towards a different area. By the time they closed the gap she had already dropped among the peaks and deep, forested valleys that covered much of the landscape.

When they were lost from visual range of the fighters, Julienne flicked a couple of switched and brought up a here-to-fore unmentioned missile system on-line.

"Whoa, what is that?" he asked.

"Drone," she said and fired it. It dropped away and then accelerated out in front of them as she slammed reverse thrusters and they dove into a side valley. When they had slowed to a stop, she dropped them straight down among the trees and landed rather hard. It took her only a few moments to shut down the engines.

She patted the control panel. "Good thing she has reinforced landing skids."

"Are we anywhere close to our meeting location?" he asked.

She sniffed. "Hardly, we are about a thousand miles away, but we will creep out of here at nightfall and make our way there very carefully. The stakes are getting higher."

Seconds later, the fighters streaked over their position and continued on. They waited for more than thirty minutes before leaving the ship and pulling a camouflage net over the entire fuselage. It would have been quite difficult without using the Force, but within the hour they were nearly impossible to spot from above.

After days being cramped on the ship, they walked about among the trees, though never too far from the ship, and enjoyed the temperate weather. Shemric would have liked to go for a long run, but decided it was probably not the safest course with ships out looking for them. Occasionally other Sith ships crossed the sky far above, but none spotted them and dark came soon enough.

The 'short' terrestrial hop to the meeting point was another nerve-wracking experience as Julienne skimmed the treetops in the near-complete dark with no lighting and very little instrumentation. He had to admire her skill; he was certainly not a pilot of her ability. It took several hours at low speed until she honed in on a particular spot and dropped in among the ever-present trees.

"Now we unload," she said and they got to work pulling all the crates out of the cramped interior and stacking them in neat piles outside the spacecraft.

"Now I know why you brought me along," he groaned as he hefted his end of one of the last few crates. "I have been reduced to manual labor."

"If I can do it, you can do it," she chided. "If you would not have spent so much time running on that treadmill during the trip, then you would not be so tired."

In truth, it was nice to do some physical labor after all the sitting around. Their amorous activities could only pass so much of the time; the same went for running and practicing on their game. Space travel in a high-speed crate was not much fun.

"At least we will have some space for the trip back," he noted.

"True; it is a shame there is not enough space to swing a lightsaber," she said. "I miss the beatings you used to hand out."

"No, you do not," he said as he dropped the crate onto the last pile. "You like to give out the pain, not receive it."

"Oh, yeah," she smiled at him. "Not that I ever did better than draw even against you."

"That makes me want to ask how competent you are or were against your peers," said Shemric. "Rarely was I ever challenged by my fellow Jedi to the extent you did."

"That is because they are not really trying to hurt you, when you train," she said.

"And you were?" he asked in surprise.

"Of course I was," she said in an exasperated voice. "How else were you going to gain any benefit from it?"

Shemric thought about it for a while and then apologized. "I think I did you a disservice. No matter how much I wanted to beat you, I was never really trying to hurt you."

She scowled at him. "Until the real fight at the end. I know. When you came at me, with every intent to hurt me, I was not prepared for it. You never showed me that kind of ferocity before."

"I had to hurt you that day," he said, absentmindedly as he thought of their final confrontation years earlier.

"Why?" she asked and her tone jerked his head around. She was peering at him very intensely. "Why 'had to?'" she asked.

"The vision I told you about was very specific," he said. "It even showed me the burn scars you would have years later."

Her face held an unreadable expression and she turned away. He wanted to go to her, but he sensed she would not welcome him. Wearing only a vest, the burns he had given her were quite evident on her upper arms. She had never commented on them to him in the short time they had been back together.

"When I returned to Darth Acina, she found my fighting skills to be quite formidable," said Julienne. Still with her back turned. "I think it is because we combined the best of the two schools of training." She turned back to meet his eyes. "The Sith do not believe in using practice weapons. The threat of injury or death makes every training session more intense, more real. You never doubt that the next mistake could mean your end. Training accidents are … regrettable." She snorted loudly. "I suspect, in your Jedi training, every care is taken to shield the younglings from harm. They are allowed to grow and experiment with their style until they are comfortable. I think it allows them to make mistakes and learn from them.

"As a Sith apprentice, you cannot afford mistakes," she said. "Oh, some masters might forgive you an error here or there, but many would just kill you and move on. When we fought … well, I _was_ trying to injure you. I knew the practice blades stung and other objects would hurt if they hit you. I think you knew it and accepted it and it made you a better fighter. With practice blades you attacked me with much greater effort than you would have if the lightsabers could harm or kill. That helped me. We both benefitted."

He met her eyes and nodded. "I am much too fond of you to ever really want to hurt you. I could … try, though."

"You mean you would try to hurt me?" She sounded doubtful. "Really hurt me? I am not sure you could do that without a vision to show you the way." She sounded bitter about it.

"Well, when we drop this shipment off, we need to find ourselves a nice quiet piece of jungle to test it out, do we not?" he asked.

"That sounds like a grand idea," she said. "Now let us go find these 'freedom fighters'" she said. Her tone said she thought they were fools.

"You mean they are not meeting us here?" he asked.

"By all the dead ghosts of Korriban, no!" she said. "They come and take it away and we leave before they can get half a klick."

He nodded. It made good tactical sense. "How do you know how to find them?"

"When I get a couple of kilometers away, I am going to turn on a very short range homing beacon," she said. "It projects less than five kilometers and is encrypted. They come to find us."Julienne entered the ship and then reemerged with a large blaster rifle. "This is for you to look intimidating," she said and handed it over to him. He gave it the once over and slung it over his back. She had a very small speeder bike they unloaded and mounted before setting off into the dense concentration of dalloralla trees that covered most of the landscape. She had warned him to keep an eye out for the red crested cougars that were the only large native fauna that could be dangerous. She had said that she had never seen one, but had sensed some rather large predators in the distance several times.

They stopped to activate the beacon and then withdrew several hundred meters to a location they could see the clearing where it sat, but not be seen. Within the hour, a party of 15-20 men and women, dressed in weather beaten camouflage uniforms appeared and stood waiting.

"You sense anything else out there?" she asked.

"No," he said. "Do you always meet them alone?"

"I do," she said. "Now unsling that beast of a weapon and give them all the evil eye," she said as they set off. The group heard the speeder as they came closer and became more vigilant.

 _This is not the normal person I meet_ , she signaled. _Keep an eye out._

A large woman stepped forward, flanked by two men of roughly the same size. They were all armed, but Shemric could sense they were not comfortable with the weapon like a trained soldier. Well, they were not trained soldiers, so that was to be expected.

"Where is Owal?" asked Julienne when the others were close enough to hear.

"He is dead, unfortunately," said the woman. "We lost him in our last raid on an Imperial camp. I will be taking care of this shipment."

Julienne stared at her long enough to make her uncomfortable. Shemric smiled inwardly. The Sith must teach that intimidating glare first thing at their horrid academy. Julienne could certainly turn it on at need, though some of the effect was lost without the black cloak and hood.

"Well, come on then," she said. "Give me the validation code. The woman handed over something that Shemric did not see and Julienne plugged it into some sort of hand-held device. It beeped a moment later and Julienne nodded. "All right then, pleasure doing business. Your shipment is located two kilometers west and south of here." She pointed a direction. "Go that way and a smaller beacon will guide you in." She backed away and joined Shemric on the speeder.

Once they were back at the ship, she fired it up and moved it about half a click away to a new clearing. "OK, now is the tricky part," she said as they hopped on the speeder again. By then it was too loud to hear.

 _What is tricky?_ he asked.

 _Getting paid_ , she said.

Do _we get paid?_ he asked

 _Someone does_ , she said. _Just not me._ T _hey have a code we need. I am sure Darth Acina is making a profit on this somehow._

 _I see._

They arrived at the weapons before the freedom fighters and positioned themselves for a quick escape. When the ragtag group entered the clearing, they began breaking down the crates and inspecting the weapons. Five minutes later their own ship arrived to load and in less than 15 minutes Shemric and Julienne were standing across from the woman who had met them in the beginning.

"We need more weapons," said the woman, "and heavier weapons. We cannot fight off the Sith with small arms."

"That is not my area," said Julienne. "Talk to the suppliers. I just fly stuff in under the sensors and try not to get shot." The woman was looking at her like an insect she wanted to squash. Zealots always thought everyone else ought to be clamoring to join their cause. "I can tell you that my ship will not hold anything bigger. Now, it is time for the code."

The woman was looking at them as if trying to make a decision.

"I should warn you that trying to eliminate us and going off without paying-or trying to seize our ship—will not go well with you," it was Shemric who had spoken and caught her eye. He said it in his most neutral voice with almost no inflection of any kind but he backed it up with Force-enhanced suggestion. He did not often like to influence minds that way, but in this case he was simply reinforcing the truth—if they tried anything, it would not go well.

Apparently the woman received the message and looked indecisive for a moment. She looked carefully from Julienne to Shemric and back. Shemric had held her gaze only for the moment he had spoken and was now looking away again. He could sense how unnerved she was and a moment later she passed across another tech stick that Julienne used to pull up the information they needed and handed it back.

The woman took it and departed quickly.

 _That was well done_ , said Julienne as they returned to the speeder.

 _Thank you_ , he said _. I apologize if I spoke out of turn_.

 _Not at all_ , she said as they sped off. _Whatever you did_ , I _sure believed it, so I am sure_ she _was terrified of ghosts jumping out of the trees._

They left the area as quietly as they had come and used the last of the night's darkness to find a new spot a few hundred kilometers away in the deepest part of the dalloralla forest.

"So what now?" he asked as she touched down.

"I am going to take your advice and get some exercise before we try to leave the planet this time," she said. "The people looking for my departure will not like waiting and we can train for a while before heading back to Ruuria. First though, I need a nap."

It was mid-day by the time they woke and they had a passable meal from the ship's stores. When they stepped out into the mid-afternoon heat, the humidity hit them immediately.

"Oh, this is going to be sticky," noted Julienne.

Shemric nodded agreement and they moved away further into the trees away from the ship. The plant growth among the greet trees was less, but the ground was still uneven and it would provide a challenging terrain to train.

When they faced off, they looked at each other uncertainly. The last time they had done this he had hurt her and choked her unconscious.

"Oh, I remember well enough," she said. "It took me a while before I was not angry at you for that."

"Sorry," he mumbled.

She gave him a sour look and threw her lightsaber at his head. He caught it but it had surprised him and in the meantime she leaped and kicked him in the chest. He went sprawling and rolled to his feet, angry, just in time to dive aside as she tried to kick him in the face. He sent a Force blast to keep her back and then threw her saber back at her, perhaps a bit too hard. She did not even have time to catch it, she only dodged and then it was his turn to try and kick her back. She was ready for him and caught his foot and twisted but he was already swinging a blow at her shoulder with his saber and she had to let go to dodge.

They both came to their feet with lit sabers in hand and he did not wait for her to attack, but crashed down on her with Djem So which forced her to back up using Sorensu. She snarled and tried to blast him but he absorbed it and sent it back to her in the form of lightning that touched her shoulder and made her hair stand on end until she was able to deflect the rest with her practice blade. A clump of earth shot towards his face and he ducked and kicked her blade hand. The strike made contact but she caught the hilt in her other hand and tried to catch him with a downward strike. He parried it and switched to Makashi in an attempt to catch her blade, but she fell back into Sorensu until Shemric jumped back and started laughing.

She was not amused. "You are no gentleman, Shemric Norm, nor much of a Jedi either if you are going to try and fry me with lightning." She rotated her shoulder and grimaced.

"Well, that was what you wanted, was it not?" he asked. "Someone to test you and make you better." When she continued to pout he realized the source of her anger. "You are just angry that, despite everything, I am still better at this than you are." Her eyes would have ignited dry wood and she rushed him, blade in hand.

This time, he fell into Sorensu and let her burn her anger out while slowly backing away. The uneven terrain posed no issues, as his Force awareness led him where to place his feet and even showed him a nice clump of wet soil that he tossed at her. She did not quite manage to duck and it splatted against the side of her face. He used the distraction to hook her lightsaber and send it flying. She did not try to follow it but instead sent an incredible flash of sheet lightning that he did not manage to entirely deflect. It knocked him off his feet as a root caught his ankle and he went sprawling.

When he came back to his feet, she had disappeared, both her and her lightsaber and casting out his senses, showed no sign of her. He knew she was up to something and so he suddenly leaped straight up thirty meters to land on the limb of a tree just as a dozen projectiles of all sorts converged on the place he had been standing. He heard her curse and leaped in the direction of the sound just in time to find a tree limb flying towards his face. Instead of moving, he blasted it with lightning and so he was ready when she came leaping out of hiding to crash against his defense. He fell back into Sorensu and found his center. He could feel the sweat flowing down the sides of his head and his shirt was soaked with it, but those were distant things in his present Force trance. She battered his blade and tossed objects at him, but he continued to block and duck near effortlessly until he sensed an ebb in her attack.

Like most Jedi, Shemric was familiar with each of the six forms of lightsaber combat but he had rarely practiced the more offensive forms, preferring Makashi and, if necessary, Djem So. As it had the first time on Balmorra, something prompted him at that moment to switch to the more aggressive form he had used to best her years earlier. He attacked her with a fury he had rarely known. That look of surprise and anger was there in her expression, as it had been the first time he had used his own anger to defeat her. The effect was much the same this time as he drove her back, disarmed her and then kicked her in the stomach. She lay gasping on her side and waves of anger rolled off her. He stood over her, saber in hand, trying to calm his breathing and waiting for the explosion.

Surprisingly, it never came. Instead, she opened her tightly held presence in the Force and his eyes nearly glazed over. Instead of the hate and anger he had expected he was overwhelmed with the outpouring of … affection was about the only way he could describe it but that seemed inadequate. When she looked up, there was a smile on her very dirty face.

"Seriously? Do you only pull that out craziness when you want to beat me down?" she asked.

"It is a moody thing," he mumbled. "You cannot just practice it at will. The anger has to be real."

"Well, it is not like any form I was ever taught," she said.

He offered her a hand up and the touch brought their Force-connection into sharp clarity. He wondered how much of her anger before had been feigned.

 _And were you so very angry with me? she asked._

 _Of course, I was. You always make me angry when you insist that I hurt you. It worked exactly the way you intended so do not blame me for your bruises or your dirty face._

 _A little pain is necessary for improvement, she said._

At that moment, Julienne looked off into the distance and focused on something. It was alive, but not human.

"The local fauna?" he asked.

 _Probably_ , she said. _How about we go torment the poor beast instead beating on each other?_

 _Sounds fine to me_ , he replied.

 _Stay with me, then_ , she said and then retrieved her saber and loped off into the forest.

He rode her consciousness and looked out of her eyes the way she stuck with him. It was even more disconcerting than when they had begun to play the game in the space ship because now they had different surroundings. As they approached the creature, Shemric began to have some misgivings. It was large, and its aura emanated hunger. It was scared of these odd intruders but could smell that they were meat as well.

 _I am not sure this is a great idea, he pointed out. This thing is a living, hungry creature. It will not play along._

 _If we are going to defeat Darth Malgus we are only going to be able to do it together,_ she said. _For that we are going to need some practice with something that means us harm. We need to work on keeping it centered. Stay sharp!_

Shemric avoided shaking his head. He could spend all day shaking his head at Julienne and it would change nothing. He decided to concentrate on the task and keep from being eaten.

 _Good choice,_ said Julienne.

 _If I could smack you, I would,_ he said.

 _I am going in,_ she said, ignoring him.

Shemric still could not see the creature that he could sense in the undergrowth less than twenty meters away. He could just make out the slowly stalking Julienne across from him. The low light from the tree shade did not help. He made himself small in the Force and moved carefully forward until he and Juju were less than thirty meters apart. He sensed her toss a large clod of dirt at the clump of bushes where the creature was hiding.

The feline that burst out of the undergrowth was bigger than Shemric had expected. Its red crest gave it a fierce appearance as it looked about in anger and surprise and locked on Shemric first. It leaped at him in two great bounds and Shemric waited until it closed and then moved suddenly, scoring a hit on its side that brought an eerily human-like scream as it swiped a paw at his face. It landed and charged again and suddenly Julienne was there, waving her saber and causing it to dodge sideways and then come back at her from a different vector. The beast was quick and it took every bit of concentration to continue to center the creature between them and confuse it. At several points, they lost each other's point of view and had to reconnect while avoiding the big cat, but as they worked at it, it became easier, until it was clear the beast was tiring.

 _Let it go,_ suggested Shemric. _I think we have tormented the poor bugger quite enough._

Juju jumped straight up into a tree and came to rest on a limb fifteen meters up. The cat used the opening to slink off into the brush and disappear. Shemric shivered. Without Force-sensitivity, he would not wish to roam these woods. He did not relax until he sensed that it was more than a kilometer off and had stopped moving.

Juju landed lightly next to him. "I hope you can sense where the ship is from here," she asked. "We have roamed quite far."

He cast out his senses into an ever-widening search until the serenity of the forest was disturbed by a large inanimate object. "This way," he gestured and started walking. He pulled out a water bottle and offered it to Julienne, who took it and chugged half the contents. The energy drink was warm by now, but it still tasted very good going down. He finished it off and tucked it back in the holder.

They walked in companionable silence for a time, keeping their thoughts to themselves. Surprisingly, it was Juju that started to pry first.

 _You are unusually quiet,_ she said.

"Which is your way of saying I talk too much the rest of the time," he mumbled.

 _No, that is my way of saying you tend to overanalyze everything,_ she said.

He snorted and kept on walking in silence.

 _You do not seem angry with me,_ she said. It was not quite a question.

 _Why would I be? At every turn, on every occasion since we met you made me a better fighter._

 _But you do not like what I do to bring that out in you,_ she said. This time it was not a question at all.

 _No, frankly, I do not. But that is hardly your fault. I want everything to end happily with all sides satisfied._

 _And you are not … satisfied?_ The feelings with which she accompanied that thought made it … well, indecent.

 _I think the word for you is incorrigible,_ he said.

 _Only if you insist on trying to correct me,_ she said. _If you just let me be then you would have a great chance of being … satisfied._ "And now you are shaking your head again," she said out loud.

"I do that more around you than any other being I ever met," he admitted.

"I guess I am incorrigible," she said, but she was smiling as she said it.

"You have dirt in your hair, you know," he pointed out.

"I am aware," she said and hopped up onto a tree root to look down at him. "I quite remember how it got there. Your aim was excellent. And yes, it does irritate me that no matter how much stronger I increase in the Force, no matter how much I learn, you always seem a step ahead of me."

 _It does not have to be a competition._

She stood there looking down at him for a long time. "It was always a competition at the Sith Academy. Every moment of every day in any way possible. And the losers did not end up as farmers; they were dead."

He met her eyes and tried to imagine what that was like and in that moment she opened up to him. She let him see her training on Korriban, the hopelessness, the misery, the fear of failure. The feelings she dredged up were horrible and he found tears running down his face. Julienne had become the person she was to survive. It changed his perception of her. When she ended the sharing and pulled back from him, he snuffled in embarrassment and wiped at his face. He had judged her by one paradigm when he understood absolutely nothing about her.

 _It does not bother me, much. I do not blame you for being a weak-kneed, soft-hearted Jedi. It is just who you are._

He laughed out loud at that and she jumped down from the root and continued to duck and weave through the undergrowth until they made it back to the ship.

"It is a battle now between my stomach and my desire to be clean," she said as she keyed the door code.

"Well, since you kind of smell bad … "he teased. She threw her shirt to hit him in the head. _For that, you get to wait until I am finished in the fresher._

After they had cleaned up and eaten, they sat in the only seats in the ship, that of the pilot and navigator.

 _Sometimes, when you are angry, you seem a different person, she began._

 _I am sure I am, he replied. An angry person. That is not at all like my normal self._

 _Anger can be justified, she said. It is not always bad and it does not always 'Lead to the Dark Side.' Sometimes it can keep you alive._

 _Sometimes it can make you do things you would rather not, he said._

 _Like hurt me?_

 _Yes._

She sat up on his lap and looked him directly in the eyes, unblinking. _Were you so very angry at me on Balmorran, then?_

 _I thought I was, he said. Afterwards I realized I was not really angry at you, I was just angry._

 _At yourself? she asked, feeling curious._

 _No. At life. At the Force. Most of all at my vision. I wanted to see a vision that would bring me hope and peace; well, I got hope, but the peace still has not arrived. I wonder if we will survive long enough to see it._

 _I refuse to worry about it,_ she said _._ She leaned over to his chair and kissed him. It was not her Hungry Kiss or her Companionable Kiss, or even her Kiss Goodbye. It was very careful and tender and not at all like her. To Shemric, it felt like a gift. _We have today, we might have tomorrow and the next day is too far away to give it much thought._

 _Well, today has been good, he said._ "Though not so much for that poor cat," he said out loud.

She laughed and then sat quietly for a time. "I am about ready to take a break from this smuggling, if only to get away from the frozen meals," said Julienne.

"How many runs did you make before you came looking for me?" he asked.

"Well, first of all, I did not 'come looking for you'," she said. "I knew exactly where you were and have since we parted on Balmorra. Second, I do not really 'need' help, really. I came looking for company."

He nodded. He had also known where she was, generally, since they had parted. It was like touching your nose with your eyes closed. You just knew where it was.

"So to answer your question, three times," she said. "By the last one, I was so bored out of my mind that I was fantasizing about you. Why do you think I found that yum-yum costume?" She smiled at his bark of laughter.

"Well you could not have been any more bored than I was, hanging out in the capital and running errands," he said. "I needed a night job just to keep my sanity."

They put away their dishes and started to discuss if they should stay longer or take off during the soon-to-come darkness. Since they were both tired, they decided to sleep on it and move at first light.


	16. Chapter 16

The trip back to Ruuria was uneventful from takeoff and escaping the planet's gravity well all the way to landing. With the extra space, they had worked on hand-to-hand fighting and grappling since their dual-Force awareness had rendered the virtual reality game too easy. Even together, the trip back was a little tedious. One can only do so much drilling at fighting forms and sparring was not particularly safe without safety gear; they had dealt each other more than one bruise that Shemric had to heal after the fact.

Neither of them had ever watched many of the popular 3-D movies of the day and after the second hyperspace jump began, they had dug into the yacht's impressive library and started watching movies on their virtual reality headsets. They had begun with the critically acclaimed movies and even tried a few war movies, but they found the depiction of both Sith and Jedi to range from silly to offensive, so they ended up watching love stories.

Julienne teased him unmercifully when he often cried during the sad or happy moments,

For her part, Julienne remained blissfully in the now and seemed happy about it. When they came out of hyperspace above Ruuria, she seemed almost regretful.

"That was nice," she said looking down at the planet. "I felt like a normal sort of person for a while."

"An old married couple, sitting around watching movies," he snorted.

"Is that not what we are?" she asked. "How long has it been since we met?"

"Nostalgic are you?" he asked in surprise, but quickly answered, "nine years."

"And I was a skinny 16-year old at the time … " she mused.

"You were still cute in your 'I-will-crush-you-weak-little-Padawan,' way," he said.

She chuckled. "I was a little full of myself then," she said. She shook her head. "Nine years and less than two of it together, but we fit together like an old couple."

"Someday … " he began, but her look cut him off and he subsided.

"But not today," she said. She started the descent to the planet. "Today we have work to do, lover-boy."

Julienne sent him off as soon as they landed with the instruction to find a place to stay while she conducted business. Acina had spies and she had no idea how the Sith Lord would react to her recruiting her former Jedi lover. Well, he had no desire to meet a Sith Lord here either so he did as he was told.

Waiting though, was never his favorite thing, so he spent the day practicing at disassembling his lightsaber using only the Force. He had been given the idea by the Wookie Master Killanin, and they had made a game of it before so that he would understand the function and how it was put together, but it turned out to be something else entirely. "You can hide your saber on your person in various components that are unrecognizable to most people and will fool a lot of scanners," she had explained to him.

He spent the afternoon sitting on the bed assembling and disassembling it and tried not to think about the fact that Juju had completely hidden herself from him in the Force.

* * *

It took all of Julienne's considerable self-control to not react when Darth Acina revealed herself in the Force when Julienne entered the location of her contact meeting point. It was a seedy diner, dimly lit and a little grungy that fit the area well, but not the kind of place she intended to eat. Her master's presence flared in her mind and she immediately turned in that direction. She kept her own thoughts and worries of Shemric to herself lest her master glean them and question her.

"Master," she said, bowing slightly when she sat. Darth Acina had probably been an attractive woman once, if small, but now she only appeared stern and demanding.

"Well, my apprentice, it seems you have been busy," she said in a gravelly voice. "This was your fourth shipment." It was not a question. "What do you think of the task?"

"It is something I can do, but it is not particularly challenging," said Julienne. "Any good smuggler can do it."

"Then why do you think I sent you?" said her master.

"Because it is only the opening gambit," said Julienne.

"Exactly," said Acina. "As you have begun to annoy Malgus now, it is time to move to the next phase. I sense from your aura that you have recruited your former Jedi lover. That is good. I doubt you could overcome Malgus on your own."

Julienne kept her thoughts wrapped tightly and suppressed the shiver she felt at her master's words. The woman had _expected_ her to do it and worked it into her plans. She was reminded more than ever before that she was just a tool.

"Yes, my tool," said the Sith Lord and she did not even sound angry. "I kept you after the Fright debacle and you have served me well. You will continue to serve me well; you and your _Jedi"_ Acina always said that word as if it left a bad taste in her mouth, "with you. You will both serve me very well. You will retrieve your things from the ship you have been using and go to this location," she passed across a data card, "to pick up your new shipment. It is much larger and harder to fly, so I suggest you find a gravity well before Belkadan and learn how it maneuvers. This time you will you will not need to return to Ruuria. I am sending a larger ship straight to Ord Janon. It will orbit the planet while you make the necessary trips back and forth."

Julienne wanted to ask why they had not done that in the first place, but she knew better. One did not question Acina.

"I suspect that each trip will become more treacherous," said Acina. "They are heavy weapons and will be able to cause some real damage to Malgus' forces there. It will grow dangerous for you until you are able to lure Malgus out to deal with you himself. Then you are to kill him."

Julienne did flinch then. She had talked about it with Shemric, but Malgus was no easy target. They would probably both die in the attempt. It surprised her how much that thought pained her. She only nodded and kept her thoughts to herself. She could sense Acina weighing her and wondered how she would balance out.

"You think I send you to your death?" asked her master.

"It seems possible," said Julienne quietly.

"On the contrary, I have every hope for your success," said the woman. "I think you and ' _your Jedi pet_ ' will do what others have been unable to accomplish."

"Is this a vision, Master?" asked Julienne quickly. She knew she was pressing her luck.

The woman let out a horrible, low laugh. "Not even a small one, Qa. I have simply put the right players on the board to defeat him. When you are finished, take some time away with your lover. Go on a vacation. Come back to me when you are ready to ascend."

Julienne did not dare look up and meet Acina's eyes. Something very odd was going on here. Instead of castigating here for the illicit relationship, she was encouraging it. She suddenly regretted involving Shemric in her business at all. She doubted it would be good for his health. When her master did not say anything further, she rose quickly and practically fled. Her extreme personal turmoil must have been obvious enough that even Shemric could sense it.

 _Juju? Are you well?_ came his very small, tightly controlled query.

 _Not now! Stay where you are. I will come to you._ She pulled back her awareness and became very small in the Force as she mixed in with the crowd and headed in the general direction that she had sensed him. Every few minutes, she quested out lightly to get a direction before pulling back. It took longer, but she did not want to lead Acina or her agents to Shemric.

When she had passed the second time by the location where she suspected he was staying, she was suddenly jerked off the sidewalk into a doorway. She stifled a cry when she sensed it was Shemric and he hustled her indoors quickly.

"Do we need to flee?" he asked quickly.

"I do not believe so," she said. "Do you have a room?"

"No, there is a library across the street; that was where I was when you first 'called,'" he said.

"Let us find a place we can talk," she said. They headed out the back side of the building and merged into the crowd and tried to appear relaxed. They pointed out the sites to each other and ended up in a large food court where they ordered food and then sat down. Julienne had never felt less like eating, but she forced herself to take bite after bite and reached across to touch Shemric's hand. Physical contact significantly reduced the amount of Force energy required for the mind-to-mind contact.

 _Darth Acina was waiting for me at my contact meet,' she opened._ She felt his alarm but he suppressed it and waited for her to continue. _She has given me a new ship that can carry heavy weapons and she is upping the ante. She is trying to draw Malgus out and we are the bait._

 _We?_ asked Shemric _._

 _She knows about you._

He met her eyes then. _And?_ he asked. He gave her a big, food-filled smile but she could sense his inner call was precarious, like a body of water held back by a flimsy dam.

 _She anticipated me going to you, said Julienne. She expected it and worked it into her plans. She believes between us that we can defeat Malgus and strengthen her position on the council._

He was mentally silent for a time even while he continued to smile and eat their meal. Finally, he asked a question that made Julienne think furiously.

 _Are you worried because she knows about me, or because she thinks and expects us to get rid of Malgus for her?_ he asked.

 _Yes, both._ She must have sounded panicky and she realized at that moment how much she had changed. She was worried about Shemric's safety. More than she was worried about her own. It was an epiphany that left her somewhat stunned. When she met Shemric's eyes he had an insufferably smug look on his face. And he sent her such a flood of affection that tears practically leaped from the corner of her eyes. She jerked her hand back to break the connection and looked away. It did not completely break them apart at this proximity, but it reduced the firehose blast he had sent her to a trickle she could handle.

Julienne met his eyes to see if her pulling back had offended him, but he was simply watching her face, waiting. She reached her hand back across the table to take his.

 _I am sorry, that was … abrupt,_ she said. He showed unprecedented wisdom and remained silent. _She promised me ascension if we succeed._ When she saw his confusion, she explained. _It is what some Lords call their Naming or the day they attain their title._

 _And is that what you want?_ he asked. There was no judgement in his tone, just curiosity.

 _I do not really know,_ she admitted _. I care not at all for the title, but I feel like it is the next step in what I … what I need to do. I think it will get me a step closer to… something._

 _And we need to get rid of Malgus to do it?_ he asked. _You think we will not succeed?_

 _It is kriffing insane! she said._ She knew she was still close to hysteria and Shemric was sending her a calm, soothing sensation so subtly that she almost did not notice it. _Malgus is the guy that took down Coruscant and burned your temple to the ground. What chance are we going to have against him?_

 _Well, I have seen the video of the Temple attack…_ and she gave him a sharp look. He continued calmly. _The security cameras recorded the entire attack. It leaked eventually and made it out there onto the holonet. Malgus is good, but he had a lot of help. His Twi'lek partner, a Mandalorian, and a whole shuttle full of Sith warriors. Oh, he is very good, do not take this wrong. His saber skills are better than solid, he is incredibly powerful and tosses lightning and other Force powers like he has them to spare. But he has never met two people like us._

Julienne sat back and let out a loud breath she had not really noted she was holding. Shemric's confidence was reassuring. He had studied the Sith's fighting style and he made good points. Shemric and Julienne _were_ different. Together they had survived situations that should have killed them and yet, had not. Perhaps this was another. Still, they could just as easily end up dead in some forgotten jungle on the edge of the galaxy.

 _We could just leave,_ he suggested tentatively. It was not a hope-filled statement, just the voicing of a possibility.

 _How does that feel to you?_ she asked.

 _Like avoiding responsibility, he said._

That was exactly what she had been thinking. It was odd to feel that way about someone you had never met or seen. _You should leave,_ she suggested. _I do not know how this became your fight except by association._ He smirked at her as if she was being silly. _I do not like the fact that Darth Acina is anticipating our movements._

 _Well, I am not excited about that either, but the fact remains, Malgus is a menace. I think we should follow this path to the end. It may be why the Force led us here in the first place._

She did not want to argue with him about his silly ideas of passive subservience to the Force; in no small part because she felt like he might be right in this case. It was not a very Sith-like philosophy. She reached into a pocket and pulled the data chip out to plug into her mobile device. It showed the location and specs of their new ship which she showed to Shemric.

"It does not look very maneuverable," he pointed out.

"No," was all she said. "Without any armament, I am not sure how we are going to fly that thing in and out for the two or three trips it is going to take to finish this. We are more likely to get vaporized than ever meet up with Malgus."

"Why not check it out first," he suggested. "Maybe there is more than meets the eye. We can always decide to run later. I feel responsible, but I am not suicidal."

She nodded and they cleaned up their food and made their way in the direction of the spaceport. Their relaxed pace conflicted with Julienne's internal desire to run the entire way and leave the planet. An inspection of the outer hull was not particularly promising but Shemric pointed out with amusement that at least there were no holes. Shemric's humor disappeared when they went inside and had a look at the cargo. He seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge of weapons and systems and each new crate brought a new exclamation of surprise from him.

"Missile systems, mortars, high explosives, mines; this is some serious firepower," he said. "Most of it is fire and forget stuff. It is not the very best you can buy, but it is the best you can buy without spending a lot of time training the recipients. This can cause some serious mischief if properly applied."

"The idea was to draw Malgus' attention away from whatever else he is doing," she said. "Acina is putting herself out there with this, I suspect. Shipping perfectly good munitions to some backward planet cannot be perceived as a great idea from all corners."

"Well, should we fail, Acina will be the least of our problems," he said.

She snorted loudly and headed forward to check out the other accommodations. It had normal crew bunks for two, a small messing area and a much larger 'fresher than their previous ship. There was actually a center aisle that was nearly 30 meters long down the middle of the tightly packed munitions that allowed you to walk to the very back of the ship.

 _You are going to want to see this, Shemric, she told him._ Shemric followed all the way to the back and whistled when he noted what she saw.

 _That increases our chances considerably_ , he pointed out. _That_ was a gun turret that retracted entirely into the ship to provide clandestine firepower to a ship that looked benign. He examined the weapon more closely before further commenting. "It is not new, but it is not old either. I think that they designed it for maximum surprise. You can target from inside and then pop up at the last minute to surprise pursuers. That only works the first time."

"Well, I am feeling a little better about this bucket," she said. "We might not die in here."

"That is the spirit," he said and punched her on the shoulder.

"I need to go clean my stuff out of the other ship; do an inventory of what we have here and see if we need to buy anything before we leave," she said. "If we can get off this rock sooner than later, I will be happier."

* * *

The trip to Belkadan was slower in the larger spaceship, but it was less cramped. Despite their fears, the descent, off-load, rendezvous and departure went off without a hitch. That is not to say that they did not have Empire ships chasing them on and off the planet, but none of them came close enough to even warrant targeting with the rear turret. Along the way they figured out that they had hidden front cannons as well, but the power source for the ship was not particularly great.

"We can probably use our shields, and either front or rear cannons, but not all three at once," said Shem.

"Still, it gives us more options," she returned.

The trip to Ord Janon was certainly shorter, but it meant they were headed back to Belkadan that much more quickly. The second time with the new ship, thought there was a complete lack of resistance when they entered the atmosphere and started to descend.

"Looks like nobody is home today," said Shem.

"Yeah, suspiciously so," said Julienne. "Let us be extra careful on this trip."

He nodded and they went through all of the normal precautions when they set down in the forest. It was possible that they had just timed their entry perfectly, but both of them felt pretty uneasy.

When they made the rendezvous with the resistance fighters, the problem because a little clearer. They followed the same precaution as before, but as they approached the meeting point, the people waiting for them were not natives. They were dressed in native garb, but their mannerisms and the way they held their rifles shout professional soldiers and that meant imposters.

"Hmm, I do not suppose these folks are here to buy weapons," said Shemric calmly while he thought. _I count four Force users and twelve other soldiers. Malgus does not think much of our skills, does he?_

They dismounted as casually as they could, but the Darkside menace rolled off several of the supposed freedom fighters that put an itch between Shemric's shoulders.

 _On three, then, said Julienne._

"Darth Malgus is willing to accept your surrender and eventual release in exchange for information on who is hiring you," said the lead Sith.

 _One, began Julienne and moved away from Shemric._ She was going to take the leader, he noted.

"And we keep our weapons and just follow you to his location?" asked Shemric.

 _Two_.

The leader made a sound that Shemric assumed was amusement. "Not quite that, but we were told that we need not restrain you."

 _Three_ , said Julienne and leaped toward the Sith leader, her silver blade igniting. Shemric rushed the soldiers on his side and deflected several bolts back at their origin before engaging the Sith. It was a pure-blood Sith with red skin and tendrils and he attacked with a rage-induces fury that Shemric met with Sorensu and a touch of Djem So to deflect away other laser bolts. He managed to send one bolt into the Sith who staggered in surprise and Shemric took him quickly through the chest as his compatriot engaged Shemric with a loud cry.

He was skilled but could not continue to fight Shemric and deflect the bolts that Shemric kept sending his way as the soldiers continued to fire on them. One of the blasts caught the man in the face and he fell backward as Shemric leaped sideways to attack the soldiers that were now firing at him quite wildly. There were six of them still firing and two of them succumbed to their own fire and another went down with a flying rock to the head. He took the barrel off two more weapons and they all threw themselves down to avoid being stuck down. "Stay down and do not move or I will consider you a threat."

Julienne had her fight in hand as well, and he leaped next to her as she was cutting down the last soldier.

"What was that! You could have taken him prisoner," he shouted. Julienne turned to look at him with an expression of complete confusion.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "They were Sith warriors sent by Malgus to kill us."

"But they could do nothing against you," he said, "and you just slaughtered them."

"As they were firing at me," she pointed out.

"They were like children to you," he said.

"No, they were not," she said and her expression was dark. "I would never harm children. These were soldiers and they knew that fighting might get them killed." She looked at him a moment longer. "Are you telling me you took prisoners?"

"They dropped on the ground after I destroyed their weapons," he said.

"So while I was keeping up my side of the fight you were playing games with them!" She looked as angry as he had ever seen her. "This is a war, you fool. You are not showing them mercy; you are dishonoring why they fight. What? Now you will send them back to Malgus to try and kill us the next time."

"They were just tools of Malgus," he said.

"As we are tools!" now she was shouting. "You for your cursed Republic and me for the Empire. You do not get to decide who lives and dies on a whim. Malgus and all these men are your enemy."

"I will always show mercy when it is possible," he said.

"What mercy?" she spit back. "What do you think is going to happen to them when … if they return? You imagine Malgus will pat them on the head and tell them they did their best?" She sniffed in derision. "You better figure out what you are doing, and quickly or I will not risk my life with you. We play this game to the final move and win or lose together, but not if you are taking unnecessary risks to avoid killing the enemy."

Julienne stalked pasted him and suddenly her red saber glowed like blood as it hummed to life. She had been using the silver blade to fight the other Sith, but she always had her familiar crystal with her. She was heading to the prisoners. He followed closely and was suddenly full of doubt.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What you should have done," she said.

"Julienne I am not going to let you … " he began.

She spun so quickly he nearly jumped back from the fire in her eyes. He could feel Darkside anger rolling off her and she got right up in his face. "You will not let me … what?" she said in a deadly quiet voice. "Then you better do it yourself, my dear."

"I am not going to kill them," he said.

"Neither am I," she said and spun away from him.

The three men were all kneeling with their hands on their heads where he had left them. With a negligent flick, Julienne gestured and two of the men flew across the clearing to slam against trees. At the same moment, the man in the center, flew toward her. At the last moment she caught him by the throat and held him there off the ground. He clawed at her hand, but his eyes were bulging.

"Listen to me very carefully; I have a message for Darth Malgus," she said and her words came out so cold and harsh that Shemric shivered. "Tell him his reign of terror here is at an end. If he wants to keep sending lackeys to fight his battle for him then we will just keep sending you to your graves, but we expected better of him. Tell him we intend to keep delivering weapons to this planet until he is defeated. Unless he wants to come and stop us himself." She flicked her arm again and he flew across the space to hit and roll near his fellow soldiers.

When she turned back to him her expression was hard in the red light of her blade. She was searching for something on his face and what she found she did not like. In an instant her blade swung at his head and he had the slightest of margins to decide something; he could block her hand; he could bring up his own saber; or, he could remain motionless and … wait.

The humming blade stopped fractions of millimeters from his forehead. Her eyes blazed even more furious than before. "Why? What kind of person are you? To let your enemy inside your guard to kill you."

"When did you become my enemy?" he asked.

"I am Sith; I have always been your enemy," she said. She had not lowered her arm and the buzzing of the blade was unnerving that close.

"Really, then what are we doing here?" he asked. He could see her arm was straining from holding there as if she did not really know what she would do.

"I am starting to wonder," she said and he found himself flying backwards, flailing. He hit and skidded several times before rolling to his feet as she rushed at him with that infernal red blade. She stabbed at his chest and he crossed his hands in front of him and caught her blade in a sizzle of Force power that threw off sparks. Her eyes went wide and he took advantage of her surprise to blast her away from him. She flew backwards and landed in a bush with a crunching that made him cringe.

He could feel her anger keenly now and he reached out and connected with her despite her attempt to keep him out. _Is this the only way you will respect me, dear Juju? Well then, so be it._ He jerked her off the ground and ignited his blue blade that he also kept with him and he pulled her to him so that she came flying back, awkwardly trying to bring her red blade into a defensive position. He caught her blade on his and kicked her in the stomach. She avoided some of it but grunted and swiped weakly at him as they crashed to the ground. He was up more quickly and came at her with the most focused attacking style he had ever felt. She fell back step after step and he could feel her anger changing to surprise and then to fear.

Several times she tried to blast him with lightning and he did not even bother to block it or take it in; with whip like movements he danced aside and kept attacking her until her grip faltered and she lost her saber. He punched her in the face with the knuckles of the hand holding his own saber. She fell back and he shoved her with his boot so that she could not catch her balance. Her impact knocked the breath out of her and he pounced, pinning her to the ground. He used his weight to hold her shoulders down with his knees and grabbed her head brutally by the hair until his face was inches from hers.

 _We are who we are, we two, Juju. If you require my death for your life then you know it is yours, but you will only take it knowing it is my gift to you.._ He kissed her then, roughly and with more than a bit of anger and when she finally responded, he bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. He leaped off of her and back flipped until he was a few meters away and then he stood unmoving and extinguished his saber. Her red one flew through the air to his hand and he tossed it to land next to her. She was cursing under her breath as she staggered to her feet.

She leaped at him with a wordless scream and her saber ignited and flew to her hand at the same time. He closed his eyes at the last moment, feeling a coward. When the strike came it was on his shoulder and it knocked him sideways so that he sprawled on the ground. He hissed at the smell of his own burning flesh but said nothing and waited. She stood over him, visibly shaking and with her saber drawn back to swing again.

Finally, she let out a long, disgusted growl and threw the extinguished saber at him. It hit him in the chest and stung a bit, but that was all. She was disheveled and dirty, her hair come out of its usually tight tail with leaves and grasses all sticking in a snarl, and blood was running out of her nose.

"Sometimes I just want to punch you in your naïve, compassionate face," she said, finally meeting his eyes.

"No more than I want to grab you and shake you until your teeth rattle," he replied.

She gave him a flat look and they just stared at each other for long moments. "I cannot believe how you can get under my skin sometimes," she said and then she shook her head at him as he so often did to her. "Still, it seems I can ignite your temper well enough to bring on your best fighting skills. We need to figure out a way to do that in training so I can at least get some training benefit. The problem is, you go all feral and I am never expecting it."

"We shall see," he said. "Are we done here?" She was holding back from their mind to mind contact, so he let her have her privacy.

"I believe so," she said. They took the speeder bike, but Shem did not hold to her tightly like he might have done. When she went to warm up the ship, he questioned her about immediately leaving.

"I have never landed and taken off so quickly," she said. "I want to be off this world sooner than later. Man the turret."

"We still have a hold full of weapons," he pointed out. "We are not going to be fast or maneuverable. She frowned but said nothing. The rumble of the engines started up as he sat down and began to focus on the task. Hopefully the quick takeoff would not be expected.

Unfortunately, he heard Julienne curse moments after liftoff. "They were waiting, so you may as well start prioritizing targets."

"Roger," he said into the mike. She was still holding back from his contact so he started using his scanners and sights to take in the incoming ships. He matched her curse when he realized how many were out there.

 _Is that an entire squadron?_ he asked. He could sense her hesitation but also her dismay at their numerical disadvantage. _Live or die together, Juju,_ he pointed out.

 _I am still pissed off at you,_ she said.

 _Noted, and I will properly apologize in ten minutes if all our atoms are still attached to each other,_ he said.

They were accelerating at a terrible load and he had to concentrate on the breathing exercising to keep from passing out. About a minute after liftoff the ships closed within extreme cannon range and the ship rocked under fire.

 _Here we go,_ she sent unnecesarily.

With so many ships, they were not exercising any caution on their approach, so Shemric waited and waited until he could sense frustration flowing from Juju.

 _Level out and then slow roll_ , he sent. As soon as they stopped climbing caused the turret to emerge from the rear of the ship and started firing one continuous stream of sun-bright energy. The Force nudged him to continue firing through the entire 360 degree roll. _Climb again._

That first contact had cost them five of their ships that had been so crowded he had not needed to move the field of fire very much to make contact. Eleven remained and one slowly dropped away smoking.

 _Well that was better than we might have hoped for, she said. They will not bunch up again though._

 _No, they will not. It is a race now to see whether we will escape the gravity well first or they destroy our shields._

 _We are not dieing until I have kicked your ass, she said._

 _Noted,_ he replied and then began firing again as the remaining ships closed and began pounding their shields. The seconds ticked by slowly and he spent energy recklessly, hoping to survive another few seconds. Two more ships exploded, but they were losing the race.

 _Pulling power from the port and starboard shields, she said. Keep them off the sides._

The fighter ships' superior climbing ability meant that several of them had climbed up above the frieghter and were going to try and pin them between the two groups.

 _Standby to pause, she said._ It meant she was going to fire front cannons and the power supply was not up to both cannons at once. The seconds ticked by— _Now!_ Shemric released the grips and felt the front cannons blast away for several seconds. The screens showed that she had taken out two of the four fighters that had gotten above them. That meant there were five left. Now they were being cautious as they tried to avoid joining their departed brethren and that gave Shemric and Juju a chance.

 _Power at 25 percent, said Julienne.. Make 'em count or we are not going to make it back to Ord Janon._

 _Roger. Put the power on the rear deflector and accelerate to max, he suggested._

The ship jumped upward again and cleared the atmosphere, accerating into space.

 _Give me thirty seconds, she said. We are going to micro-jump._

 _No, I will keep them back! Get us to Ord Janon._

Knowing their prey was about to escape, the remaining ships closed quickly and pounded the rear shield. Shemric held fire until the very last moment and then opened up as two ships veered close to each other. He took them both in one short burst and then fired a warning shot that kept another ship back. The remain ships maneuvered and accelerated and held fire and he waited out the interminable seconds until the stars blurred.

Shemric sat back and closed his eyes. _We cannot make two more runs, he pointed out. We will not survive. We need to be clever about this._

She refused to answer and he sighed and unbuckled from the chair. He was positive the next battle would not be as bad as the last. He made his way to the crew 'fresher, and cranked up the massage vibrator to max until he thought his teeth would start chattering. He found coveralls to wear forward to the captain's cabin. Juju was in the 'fresher there so he dressed quickly and intended to leave before she emerged but she ended quickly and surprised him as he was walking out.

"And you are going where?" she asked. As usual, her hair was wild and bushy when she came out of the 'fresher, but at least she was wearing a thin robe.

"I will sleep in the crew quarters," he mumbled.

"Really?" she said and something in her tone made him turn and look at her. Her blue eyes bore into him as if she was trying to see into his soul. "You are going to run away? That never struck me as your style before."

 _You do not seem to want my company_ , he sent.

 _I do not want you in my head right now, she said. I am thinking and I do not need your interuptions._

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Did your parents never argue?" she asked and that jerked his head back to her again. She was standing, watching him

"Actually, they did," he said. "Nothing crazy but they would disagree and raise their voices on occasion."

"Well, mine were pretty loud," she said.

He looked at her and she said nothing more. He waited, wondering why she had brought it up.

"What? she asked.

"You have never brought up your parents before," he said. "You told me that you did not remember them."

She looked away and said quietly. "When I went to Korriban there was so much that happened that I did not understand and I blamed my parents for not protecting me. Then as I grew and learned more, my instructors pounded into me that my parents were traitors to the Empire. Eventually I just blocked them out entirely." She shook her head. "You make me feel things I have suppressed for a long time. Remembering my parents brings up all sorts of confusion. I resented my parents for not hiding me better and then for hiding me at all."

"I understand, a little," he said. "My parents taught me and loved me and then sent me off to strangers because they had some … vision. The Jedi Temple was not harsh, like you have described your training, but it was … not a family. Some of my fellow younglings did not understand what I was going on about and eventually I kept those feelings to myself."

"I did not get to have feelings," said Julienne. "They are not exactly helping me now."

"I would tell you that I am sorry," he said and he tried to look her in the eyes, "but that would not strictly be true. From the day I met you my life has been … more full."

"Are we not two great fools," she said moving closer to him. "Better a live fool than where I would be without you." She motioned the the captain's small cabin. "Let us finish this in bed. I am tired." They crawled into the small bunk and curled up much as they always did.

"Do you know why you made me so angry when we met again?" she asked.

"My placid, Jedi-like nature clashes with the aura you are used to feeling…" he proposed.

She snorted loudly. "Hardly. The first time, on Balmorra, when we fought, I thought I would best you easily. You had that self-effacing way about you that just begged to have it slapped off your face. But then you defeated me. Over and over. You did not act like a Jedi. You shattered my stereotypes and left me doubting myself. And then, over the course of the next eighteen months, you pushed me and beat me and showed me that the Sith way was not the only kind of way to train. I learned that there was a time for aggression and a time for defense. I learned that fitness can save your Force strength and make you a better warrior. That day, the final day, I was prepared, finally, to defeat you."

"And then I went crazy," he said quietly.

"Yes," she agreed. "I had been training to defeat you and you had never shown that part of yourself to me. When I woke up, above Kashyykk, I was so angry that you could still defeat me after so much work. And then I went back to Dromuund Kas and Darth Acina found me not only not deficient, but she was impressed. And then the challenges came. She sent me on missions and I was constantly tested. This face and body just invited challenges. Men could not seem to take me seriously. Sith after Sith came against me and I crushed them and killed them or sent them packing back to their masters and I finally came to realized the great truth about you and I." She paused for effect. Shemric remained quiet. "I nearly never won against you, but by sharpening my edge, I had become better than the others. After the anger, finally, came the appreciation. You had given me your best."

"I am not sure that was true," he said.

"But even what you did was better than the others," she said. "I gained quite a reputation." She chuckled, but there was no humor in it " And I began to get caught up in my own awesomeness, so that, just now when you did not take this mission seriously—or so I thought it—it made me angry all over again. And that triggered your insane crazy attack and you rubbed my face in it."

"I am sorry," he said.

"Do not be," she said. "When I return again, I will be better than ever and once again reminded of my own weakness. Humility is not a trait that most Sith work to cultivate."

Shemric almost asked her why she had to go back at all, but sensed this was not the moment. He wondered if there would ever be a moment.


	17. Chapter 17

**Ord Janon**

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking at him strangely. They were preparing to go into the city; she to find her contact, he to keep a distant eye on her.

"I am putting on armor," he said. She rolled her eyes and gave him a look. "I have not been training in it and I think we are going to need every edge against Malgus."

"Quickness versus protection," she said.

"Yeah," he agreed. "I do not believe quickness will be the issue against Malgus."

"Probably not, he is more like a hammer than a scalpel," she said.

When they were ready to leave, it was his turn to be surprised. Julienne now looked every centimeter the Sith in her black cape and armor. The hood covered her eyes unless she tipped her head back.

"Will that not be a little suspicious?" he asked. She had used something to put markings on her face and the hood had a light veil that shaded her face further. The red lip-stick stood out on her now-pale face.

"Not here," she said. "Plus, my contact is expecting Darth Monikas."

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "You look a little scary."

Her smile looked odd coming out of that costume. "That is sort of the idea." They took the same public transport across the landing center and then moved off separately, Shemric keeping back and easily following the wake that Juju created as she moved down the city walkways. No one looked surprised at a Sith, but they did not look happy either.

Ord Janon was a regional ordnance depot that, like many other worlds had begun as a military outpost and then continued to protect the mostly human colonists. When it had been conquered by the Sith, the owners had simply continued to provide much the same military services they had to the Republic. Mandalorians and other mercenaries were not uncommon but the Sith were very harsh on drifters and criminals so it was a fairly lawful world. Janon City was the only major port or city of any kind.

When Julienne entered the café where she was to meet her contact, Shemric moved across the street and tried to look everywhere without appearing to be concerned. He hated being out of contact with Juju but she had not reiniated the contact since the fight and he was not going to push her. When his personal communicator beaped, he nearly started since they so rarely talked that way.

HEAD BACK TO THE SHIP AND WAIT.

No explanation. Well, Julienne was a big girl and she could take care of herself but he was not sure it was a good idea. He flagged a public transport and had it drop him off at the edge of the field. He walked slowly to the ship in the late afternoon shadows until a very disturbing feeling made him look up. There was a dark shadow under their transport that emerged slowly and caused Shemric's Force sensitivity to spike in surprise.

The sinister figure's lower face was covered in a breathing aparatus and Shemric knew then that he and Juju had been outmaneuvered. His concern must have been so obvious that even across the city, Julienne sensed it.

 _Shemric? What is it?_

 _He is here. On Ord Janon, he said. He was waiting for us._

The blast of surprise, concern and near-panic that hit him threatened to overwhelm him for a moment before he focused again on the approaching figure.

"So, here we are little Jedi," came the gravelly, artificially enhanced voice.

 _Do not engage him, Shemric! Wait for me,_ she said in alarm _._

 _I doubt he is going to give me a choice, said Shemric. Come quickly. I will try and wear him out as best I can._

 _Shemric? came her voice one last time._

 _Yes? he asked curiously._

Even across a city, he could sense her hesitation.

 _I am coming! Stall him._

He signed. For some reason he had hoped that his imminent demise might finally urge her to say things to him that he had been waiting to hear.

"Your transparent plan has brought you to your death, boy," said Malgus. Shemric had been trying to calm himself; his spiking fear was probably obvious to Malgus and likely what had alerted Julienne. The Sith's comment somehow made him calm down and Shem let out a chuckle. "You find this amusing, Jedi?"

"Not really, sir, but every Sith I have ever faced spoke with the same sort of hubris as you, and yet, here I stand while they are feeding the worms," said Shemric.

"None of them was me, boy," said Malgus. He did not seem in a hurry and every second gave Julienne more time. "I will show you the error of your ways. I was born for war and I have spent my life working at it. You are an … amateur."

Shemric shrugged. "It seems a pointless existence."

That surprised Malgus. "What is the point of existence if not to be tried and tested?"

Shemric smiled again. "I would explain it to you, but I doubt you would understand."

Now the Sith Lord looked angry and perhaps that would work in Shemric's favor. "You thought you were so clever, trying to lure me in and ambush me, but you were just a tool," said Malgus. "Tell me who sent you and I will make this quick. Probably Acina or Hessia. Neither of them has the true stomach for war."

"I am here for a friend," he said.

"The little Sith girl?" he said and though you could not see his expression well, his inflection showed what he thought of her. "Where is she, anyway? I had thought to squish you both with one thumb. Now I shall have to go and find her."

"Maybe she is back on Belkadan undoing your work there?" said Shemric. "Maybe you are the once who has been deceived."

Malgus removed his hood and regarded Shemric with his malevolent red gaze. "I see," he said. "She is not here and you are stalling."

"You could wait a bit," suggested Shemric. "She will be along shortly."

"I think not," said Malgus and his red saber sparked into life.

"So be it," said Shemric. _I love you, Julienne. I will always love you._

 _Shemric!_

Malgus approached him without slowing but it was Shemric who took the initiative and attacked furiously with his his blue pike-saber. The length gave him stand-off and he was quicker than the other man. Malgus' horrid eyes did not change as Shemric drove him back, but neither did he look to be straining either. When he managed to strike Malgus on the shoulder, burning a furrow in the man's armor and causing cloth and skin to let off a burning stench, the man let out a cry that was more anger than pain and he unleashed a tremendous Force-blast that Shemric had been expecting but still could not withstand.

He tumbled awkwardly and wondered if he ought not to have tried to absorb some of it. He had spent a lot of energy on his initial attack and the fight had barely begun. Malgus did not wait and leaped towards him; Shemric caught him mid-air with Force lightning that blasted him back to slam against the side of the transport. Both of them came to their feet slowly and faced off again.

"Who are you, Jedi?" said that horrible voice. "I find myself very curious, of a sudden."

"Shemric Norm, if it matters," he said.

"Well Shemric, I seem to have underestimated you," said Malgus. His smile was hideous. "This will be more interesting than I would have ever expected." The Sith closed with Shemric and he met him with the silver-bladed saber that threw off sparks when it met the red. Again Malgus stepped back. "Will the surprises never end? I cannot see how you can have many other tricks up your sleeve." He attacked Shemric again and Shemric slipped unconsciously into Sorensu and simply _moved_. There was no thought, no pain, no exhaustion, no regret. He danced on the edge of life and met every hammerstroke with his own Jedi blade.

The Sith Lord threw objects at him, but they were nothing as he leaned this way and that, using the barest of movements to let them pass him by without effect. He had never been more aware of the living Force and it guided him to greater things than he could have done on his own. Even so, the Sith's strength was prodigious and when the lightning came he chose to catch it on his saber rather than absorb it. He did not know why, but it seemed right.

 _Get out of the way, fool!_ Julienne's voice of command brought an instant reaction; Shemric threw himself sideways as a rush of air passed him and an aircar slammed into the pavement and skidded toward Malgus. The Sith disappeared in a huge explosion as the aircar disintegrated. Shemric cried out and then stopped abruptly when he felt Julienne flying through the air towards him, riding the blast of the explosion.

 _Nice entrance, he said._ She offered him a hand up and then pulled him into a crushing hug and kiss.

 _I am glad you liked it. I am even more happy you are still alive. Now let us finish this._

They turned to observe the burning rubble and the dark figure that emerged from the debris, minus his cloak and with smoke curling up from his armor. He attacked them savagely and they separated to leap away in opposite directions. Their consciousnesses settled together without thought and they attacked the Sith mercilessly.

Several times when they pressed him closely, he blasted them back with such strength that there was nothing they could do but ride the shock wave and come back at him. The fight went on that way until he used brute force to pull Julienne off her feet and hurled her toward Shemric. His first reaction was to catch her until she sent the feeling more than words, _Attack him!_

Shemric leaped sideways and hurled his rapidly ignted pike like a spear. The Sith had been expecting him to catch her or be knocked over and his surprise was obvious as his eyes widened and he had to dodge ungracefully to the side to avoid being skewered. Shemric Force-ran at him and slammed into him at full speed, knocking them both sprawling. He felt Julienne coming, if clearly in pain, and tried to slam his blade at the Sith while they were both still on the ground. The man blasted him and Shemric went skidding painfully along the cement of the landing area.

Shemric felt, rather than saw Julienne attack and he rolled to his feet quickly to see her raining blow after blow on the retreating Sith Lord's defense. She had moved so as to afford him an attack angle and he rushed closer to again be surprised when Malgus threw out a hand and blasted Shemric off his feet with lightning. His reactions were slowing and he managed to ground out the last of it, but he was still shaking when he rose again. It took him a few strides to recover and by then Malgus had taken the initiative from Julienne and she was in full retreat as he battered her.

Shemric reached over his shoulder and hurled his javelin at the Sith Lord's back. The older man must have sensed something because he dodged at the last moment. The move caused Shem's javelin to miss, but Julienne scored a strike to the thigh that brought a howl. Shemric came more slowly this time and was ready when Malgus tried to blast him again with lightning. He took it in and sent it back to the Sith, who stiffened and shook in surprise. In an instant, Shemric felt an odd loop created as he pulled power in the form of lightning from Malgus and sent it back into him. The more he pulled, the less the man could resist him until Shemric saw a silver blade emerge from his back and the Sith fell to the concrete to stare sightlessly at the darkening sky. His body was smoking and burnt and barely recognizable. The stench made Shemric nearly wretch and he fell to his knees and covered his nose for a moment.

When he had his stomach and sense of smell under control, he pushed painfully to his feet and went to stand next to Julienne, who was looking down at the fallen Sith.

 _I have to admit some surprise that we survived_ , she said.

 _True enough, he agreed. He was very strong._

 _That was nicely done at the end, she said. You gave him no chance to adjust to the new threat._

He shrugged. _I think I have come to depend on my ability to absord or deflect many Force attacks. Fighting him without it nearly got me killed several times over._

 _Nearly is not dead,_ she said and let out the equivalent of a mental groan, _it is just very sore and burned. You used it at the right time to win. The way you always win._ There was fondness in that thought and none of the jealously he had sensed from her before. _Maybe I become stronger at accepting the truth around you, she said. Only in facing truth can you improve._

Shemric became aware then of the sirens. _Let us not leave him here,_ suggested Shemric. The man had been honorable in his way. His way had just been cruel and merciless.

She nodded and pulled a mobile device out of a pocket to snap a quick image.

"What was that for?" he asked in surprise. She tapped at the screen for several more seconds before nodding to herself and then meeting his gaze.

"Proof of task completion," she said.

Together they dragged him aboard and into a lock before hastily starting the ship systems and lifting off. The port authority hailed them several times but did not send anyone after them as they climbed out of the planet's atmosphere. In a few short minutes they were in hyperspace and they sent Malgus' body into the void. They sat quietly without speaking for a time before Shemric broke the silence.

"Soooo, how long do you plan on keeping me around now that the job is done?" he asked.

"Until after our vacation," she said.

He started. "We are taking a vacation?"

"Yes, we are," she said.

"And where are we going?" he asked.

"Somewhere we can rent a tropical island with sandy beaches to soak up the sun," she said. "And jungles to conceal our lightsaber training."

"It sounds lovely," he replied with sarcasm.

"Zeltros, to be exact," she said.

"Really?"

"Yes, doesn't everyone aspire to afford a vacation to Zeltros once in their lifetime?"

"Are you going to be capable of taking a vacation?" he asked.

"We are going there to train," she said.

"Of course we are," he said glumly and that brought a laugh.

"Well, we will have plenty of time for swimming in the ocean and soaking up rays," she said, "but I must be better than ever when I return. Acina promised me ascension."

"And that will invite challenges?" he asked.

"Many."

His apprehension must have shown for her to respond. "It has been a goal for so long it hardly seems possible," she said. "No more than one out of twenty who begin the academy manage to achieve it." She must have found his expression amusing because she laughed and he stiffened in indignation. "Oh, relax, there is not some strange rite of darkness that will turn me _altogether evil_. A master simply declares his apprentice capable. It will change some things, but not others. Acina will become my patron, but new Lords are still tools. New Sith that break away from their master do not often survive long. I plan on surviving and growing."

They went to the infirmary after that and tended their various and sundry wounds. The worst was a fractured wrist that Julienne refused to let him heal immediately.

"You need rest as much as I," she said. "I can handle a bit of pain for a couple of days." They both took painkillers and fell asleep quite quickly.


	18. Chapter 18

The trip to Zeltros was complicated. They took the Hydian Way all the way to near Coruscant and then diverted toward Balmorra. It was very odd, setting down there, years after having flown away in anger. The Imperial presence was quite strong, but Julienne cleared the way easily. What was more disconcerting came after they had disposed of the ship and lost themselves in mass of humanity that occupied the capital city of Sobrik. The area was heavily patrolled by Sith forces, but the Balmorran elite had learned to live with it and created their own high-end district of restaurants and shopping areas. It is to that area that they escaped, much to Shemric's discomfort.

"What exactly are we doing here?" asked Shemric after the madcap dash through alleys and side streets, ostensibly to avoid any tails from Acina.

"We are going shopping?" she said, smiling. They started with a place on the edge of the district that looked to be a consignment store. "We cannot go strolling through the Balmorran shopping district looking like scruffy warriors." She began picking out clothes for both of them before she sent him off to a dressing room. The person that emerged was not quite anything Shemric had ever expected to see. He supposed that he was dressed fashionably, based off what people were wearing on Coruscant.

When Julienne emerged, his jaw dropped and she smiled beatifically. "I will take that as a success. And you look very nice, too." She was dressed in a skin-tight sheath of material that sparkled and conformed to her ever curve. What was more, she was wearing eight-centimeter heels that made her as tall as he was.

She looked so different from her normal self that she looked … well, normal. She dragged him out of the shop laughing and he wondered if she had hit her head on the concrete of the spaceport of Ord Janon.

 _I heard that, she said. We have to get ready for our vacation._ Shemric was not sure whether to be more shocked at the constant smiles from the mostly-dour woman, or that she could flit about in her high heels.

They bought more clothes and shoes and luggage to put it in and visited a cosmetic store and more shops than he wanted to count. Perhaps he was most surprised by how comfortable she felt in each environment.

 _How am I supposed to spy on the Republic if I cannot pretend to be one of its citizens?_ He certainly had no answer to that. When she stopped at a risqué lingerie store his mind could not fathom it anymore and she sent him off to find something to eat.

They had to rent a hand truck to carry all their belongings to the spaceport and then pay the extra cargo fee for the shuttle they boarded. As they approached their ship in space, Shemric was shocked how large it was.

 _It is a luxury liner, babe. For the rich and richer on their way to Zeltros._

 _There cannot be anyway that thing can make planetfall, he supposed._

 _Of course not, she said. It probably only travels back and forth from here to Zeltros to Neimodia._

 _That is bigger than an Imperial Cruiser._

Once on board, Shemric's incredulity only increased. The shops and restaurants were more opulent and expensive than they had found down on Balmorra. And the way people dressed … Shemric had never been so happy to reach his cabin on board a ship in his life.

"How long is this trip going to take?" he asked.

"This beast is not exactly a speed demon," said Julienne. "I would guess it will be four or five days."

"What are we going to do for four or five days without being able to thump each other with lightsabers?" he asked.

She grimaced. "Well, I have no intention of leaving this cabin for another day or two until all my bruises and scrapes are gone. After that, we have tickets to the exotic fish exhibit as well as massages. Other than that, I have no plans. Three or four days ought to be just the right amount of time to recover from Malgus."

True to her word, she did not leave the cabin and for the most part, they slept and recovered and talked a bit about the fight. She refused any attempt to talk about what they would do afterward until he gave up trying. After the first day, she declared she was fit and ready to be seen in public.

"You do look well," he said.

She gave him a sour look. "I should. Don't think that I did not notice you healing my bruises and scrapes. You were subtle, but I still sensed it."

"Then why did you let me?" he asked.

"Because no one _likes_ to feel beat up," she said. "Besides, if we are going to go dancing, I don't want to feel like groaning half the time."

" _Are_ we going dancing?" he asked.

"Of course," she said and her smile was sinister.

When she emerged for dinner, Shemric blinked. She was wearing a black … well, he supposed it was a dress but it had cutouts down the front and crisscrossing the legs that made it positively indecent.

"Are you going to wear that in public?" he asked, shocked.

She laughed at him and performed a small pirouette. "Oh, baby, we are headed for Zeltros; you better get used to it."

"There is no way you can be carrying your lightsaber components with you in that," he said.

"I guess you will just have to protect me, as you always have," she said.

 _How am I supposed to keep an eye out for danger when I cannot keep my eyes off of_ you, he asked?

 _You mean all your vaunted Jedi training cannot help you focus enough to avoid a little physical stimulation, she teased?_

 _Not when it is coming from you, he said._

 _Well then you better work harder because you still have not met a Zeltros female yet, she said._

Shemric could not help but think that leaving the cabin was a bad idea but Julienne tugged him out the door after offering him nose filters.

"They will help you keep your head clear," she said.

"Well, thanks," he said.

Pretty soon he understood what she meant. Zeltros females were the waitresses and servers and they wore a good deal less than Julienne, if that was possible.

The meal was odd, with a nose filter in, but taking it out likely would have been worse given the glazed expression of the men around them. After eating they went out on the promenade for a time and simple walked hand in hand before she led him to the large dance floor where the music blared and the lights flickered and shone in eye-blinding rainbows of color. Ever the adaptable one, Julienne proved to be quite comfortable gyrating about to the beat of the music while she laughed at Shem's discomfort. Unlike anyone around them, it was not difficult for them to continue to converse as normal.

 _Loosen up a bit! she chided. You might enjoy yourself like these others._

 _Most of them are half-drunk, he pointed out._

 _True, she said. Come on._ She pulled him closer and took him by the hips to lead him in her dancing while Shem tried to ignore was what going on in the booths at the edges of the room. He was pretty sure most of the activities there should not have been going on in public.

With their consciousness linked, he found he could tap into her sense of movement and pretty soon she complimented him that he was dancing like a pro.

 _Just following your lead, he said._

 _As you should, she replied._

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Shem could not help but wonder at the oddity of a Jedi Knight and soon-to-be Sith Lord flailing about wildly on the dance floor, but a scowl from Julienne made him flush that thought away and stop thinking about anything except the woman across from him.

* * *

The five-day trip on the luxury liner to Zeltros turned out to be one of the most surreal experiences of his life. Julienne refused to break her role as rich, entitled vacationer and she would not talk about anything related to being Sith or Jedi or the future. They shopped, they ate extravagantly, they danced every night, they attended shows and tried to fit in with all the other guests.

After the first day and third successive opulent meal, Shem had to comment.

 _We are going to get fat if we keep this up._

She gave him a look, nodded and after a nice nap she dragged him off to the exercise room where they ran for an hour, worked on weights for another half-hour and then grappled on the padded mats until they were both exhausted.

 _Do not think this is going to get you out of dancing tonight,_ she commented as they left _._

 _Of course, not, he said,_ but he groaned inwardly at the thought.

They met many people from all sorts of places, many of which neither of them had ever come across before. The entire atmosphere of the place was so full of Zeltron pheromones that Shemric was sure half the guests walked around mostly dazed. Zeltron males and females made themselves available to anyone who wished and it was only there that Julienne's party persona slipped as she noted Shemric's wandering eyes.

 _Getting and eyeful, she asked?_

Shem started and went back to focusing on Julienne. Several run-ins with Zeltros females had been very embarrassing for Shem. For the most part, Julienne's dark looks kept anyone of the opposite sex away from him.

When he commented that Julienne seemed to slide effortlessly into the role of affluent shopper, she refused to be baited.

 _I have often had to change skins to fit in different places, she said. There is a lot of information to gather on Coruscant and I was often asked to go and gather it._

 _Well, I can hardly stop staring at you, even with all these Zeltronian women around, he said._

 _That is fine, she said._ She gave him a smirk. _I like your eyes on me. It feels nice._

 _How is my leer any more pleasant than all the other men that keep eyeballing you, he asked, curious?_

 _Because when they leer, that is all it is—a leer, she said. They just want sex. You want_ more _._

When she said those words, she opened herself up to him fully and they joined completely. Like the other times, Shem quickly lost his sense of self in the sharing and was abruptly slammed back in his body. And like the other times, he found tears running down his face.

 _You are such a lovely boy, she said, smiling, but don't ask for too much more. There are things about me that you are better off not knowing._

She had expressed that thought before and it made him uncomfortable.


	19. Chapter 19

**Above Zeltros**

Their five days of debauchery finally came to an end and they boarded a shuttle to the surface and then a boat out into the ocean. They shuttle had landed on an island that formed part of archipelago that covered a vast area of the ocean and boasted thousands of tiny islands. Thus, they were able to advertise that you could rent your own island for a vacation. A larger boat took them further out on the ocean and then a small craft dropped them off on their own private rock. They pulled up to the long dock and Shem could hardly credit the picturesque location. When the boat left, they were still standing on the dock, staring.

 _It is our island! exclaimed Shemric. There are our chairs and the bungalow. How …?_

 _I saw it in a vision, she said._ _Even I could not have imagined something like this, said I was looking at the catalog and saw this island it hit me in the face like a metal bat. I knew it quite well, but …_ She trailed off and did not even attempt to complete the thought.

"Let me get your bags, my lady," he said and threw all their possessions over his shoulder. "Are we going to go native and beat each other with sticks?"

 _Of course not, she said. Our lightsabers are in the bags._

 _Are you serious? he said, surprised. How did you get those past the scanners._

 _They don't scan for weapons here, she said. Who would need them?_

 _Who indeed? he agreed. Just two Force-users intent on beating each other silly._

 _Here, here!_ she said and he could sense her following him.

They passed a row of sunning chairs on the beach and followed the wooden path up to the bungalow that did not even have a lock on the door. He dropped their bags and began to unpack and sure enough, there were their weapons in her bag.

"So what are we going to do first?" he asked.

 _Well, I am going to put on my suit and go sun myself, she said._

 _You are just going to go and lay in the sun? he said. You?_

 _This is a vacation, she pointed out. Think of it as the honeymoon we never had._

He snorted loudly. Her eyes narrowed and he could sense her displeasure. _Is that not what we are, she asked? You have not told me about a long list of lovers you keep in between our far-flung trysts._

"No!" he said loudly.

 _Why not, she asked? I certainly never said you had to remain faithful to me._

 _Well …_ he began, but then he stopped. She had never said anything about it, but he had just assumed … what?

 _Exactly, she said. You assumed that we were a_ we _, not a you or a me. Even after the conflict on Balmorra you still assumed that, and you left me beat up and unconscious._

 _Do not put that on me, he protested._

 _You told me you saw it in a vision, she shouted! It was completely on you!_ When he started to protest, she did something that she had never done before and blocked off his mental objections. He could still sense her thoughts but he could not speak to her. _Accept some responsibility Shem. You showed me your vision. You could have picked another outcome but you wanted a happy ending and that required you pummel and leave me. Your choice!_

Shem knew she was correct and felt remorseful about his accusation that their conflict was all on her. _No one makes me accept unpleasant truths about myself like you do, he said._

She gave him a lovely smile and kissed him soundly. _The difference between you and other men I have met is that you have the humility to see faults in yourself when they are pointed out to you._

He sniffed softly. _You and my mother, both trying to make a man out of me. She pointed out that even were we inclined to marry, who would recognize it. Are you going to claim to be Republic citizen or me a Sith? She described it as awkward._

 _Your mother sounds like a wise woman, said Julienne. Perhaps I shall visit her someday._

 _That would be a meeting I would love to see, said Shem._

Julienne winked, turned away from him and began to disrobe before putting on a tiny suit, a huge hat, and a pair of sunglasses. And then out she walked.

He shook his head and found the swim trunks they had bought on the cruise ship. After changing, he looked in the mirror and noted he was very pale.

 _I am going to get sunburned, he said._

 _Are you a Force-user, or a clown? she asked. Just control the energy from the ultraviolet rays and have them brown your skin without burning._

 _I have never done anything like that before, he said._

 _Well then come out here and I will show you how, she offered._

He shrugged and followed her down to the pier where she had pulled two of the beach chairs down to the water's edge. Her feet were dangling in the water and she was lying on her back with her face shaded by her enormous hat and sunglasses.

He just stood and stared at her. _You are quite lovely, my dear._

 _A point you have made many times, she said. But thank you. Now lie down and take my hand. If you did not learn how to shield your skin on Dromuund Kaas then the UV rays fried you without even the benefit of a suntan._

He sat and took her hand and she tried to show him the process of what she was doing. It did not take long and he understood it and smiled at the simplicity.

 _I knew it would not be hard for you, she said. You are very clever with how the physical body interacts with the living Force. Now relax._

Shem closed his eyes and luxuriated in the feel of the sun on his skin. It was right on the edge of being too warm and if was definitely humid, but it was such a different feel from the inside of ships or fabricated houses that he was surprised how much he enjoyed it.

He had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually she interrupted his stupor.

 _We need to talk about how we are going to bring out your offensive-minded fighting style when we are training, she said._

 _It does not just turn on when I want it, he said. There has almost always been a strong stimulus._

 _What good does it do you if you cannot use it as necessary? she asked._

 _Maybe I only need it against crazy Sith women who ought to be nice to me, he said. How much nicer to you do I have to be, she asked?_

 _This is not the time you need to be nice,_ he said in a lazy voice.

 _Well, I am going to be extra nice now to make up for later, she said, and stood up._

 _And what are you going to do later, he wondered?_

 _Whatever I deem necessary, she said. So stop me now or don't complain later._

* * *

When he awoke from a late afternoon nap, he realized that Julienne had given him the mental equivalent of a nudge. He sat up and did not sense her near; in fact, she was not close at all. He panicked for a moment, thinking she had left him but she sensed him and gave him a quick assurance that she was still on the island. _Now come and find me,_ she said.

His armor was all on the table and he had no idea where she had hid all that in their luggage. There was even a training helmet to go with it and his pike and two sabers were there. He groaned and then began to dress. He knew this was the pay-back for the earlier pleasure and as she had said, there was no use complaining. When he was ready, he sat and meditated for a moment and realized that even when she was masking her Force sensitivity, he could still sense her. He left the bungalow and began to walk briskly for a few minutes before breaking into an easy jog as he climbed the slope of the island's small peak. It was cooler than the daytime temp, but still not exactly comfortable and he was sweating profusely. He slowed as he sensed her proximity but it was difficult to pick her out of the shadows. There was some moonlight but she was probably back in her Sith black and blended in quite well.

Until her red blade ignited…

When Julienne finally let go of her tightly controlled emotions and Force-sense, it exploded on his own awareness with all the subtlety of a fist in the face. There was anger resentment, determination and jealousy all pouring out of her; he sensed most of it was general but some was aimed at him. She attacked his body at the same time as his mind and he blocked her assault while his mind reeled at the onslaught she threw at him. He did poorly in the beginning and he could sense her frustration building until she scored a hit on his neck between the armor and the helmet. His pain-amplified blast knocked her back to give him space.

His own anger was building and he felt manipulated, but the pain and his dislike of losing submerged his common sense; when she attacked again he was ready for her and employed Djem So to push her back a bit while he got the feel of her negative emotions and began to channel them into his all-out attacking style that was exactly what she was trying to draw out of him.

He tried to punch her in the face when she smiled, but she was too quick and threw herself into a backward leap and roll. He was on her again as she came to her feet and she tried her own version of Djem So against his aggressive style, but she was a hair late in her speed and lacking in her strength as he pushed her back to the peak's summit where they had begun. Now it was his turn to smile as the look of concentration on her face became more and more strained as he pummeled her defense. His attacks were unpredictable and fierce until he surprised her again and blasted her over the edge of the rocky outcropping and then hit her with lightning as she fell. Part of his subconscious screamed that he should catch her but he leapt after her instead and watched her hit and roll awkwardly down the sandy slop before pitching up against a tropical tree. She came to her feet slowly and barely got her blade up in time for his first attack. Instead of continuing he stepped back and whipped up the sand to disorient her and then went very small in the Force and rushed her.

His shoulder took her in the mid-section and she whoofed as the air left her lungs and he bore her to the ground and knocked her saber away. She tried to grapple with him, but she was lacking air and in a poor position and he quickly pinned her to ground. Her expression was one of shocked amazement as he brought his fist back to pummel her, but he finally took hold of himself and smacked the ground instead.

Shemric spit out sand as he shoved himself off of her and stepped back to look down at her in disgust. She was breathing again, at least, and looking rather rumpled in her black Sith armor with her hair in wild disarray.

 _That,_ she said in his head _, is more like it._

He wanted to yell at her and shaker her until her teeth cracked but the sense of satisfaction that flowed between them quickly calmed his frazzled nerves and brought his own emotions in check.

 _That was unwise, he said. You could have been injured._

 _And you do not think that I am?_ she asked in amusement. _I am bruised and battered and I have sand in unmentionable places._

He wanted to go to her and heal her when he sensed her pain but he knew she would never allow it. She enjoyed her well-earned aches.

 _Have you had enough for tonight, or shall we go a second round? he asked._

 _The problem with provoking you is that you do not hold back at all, she said._ She had stood and was brushing herself off. _Do you remember the time we fought on Balmorra, at the end, when you came to me in the power station?_

 _How would I ever forget? he said. It was about the worst day of my life._

 _Shush, I was not finished yet. I meant to say, do you remember what I said to you during that fight about not giving me your best in training. I accused you of holding back so that you could defeat me later._

 _Oh, I remember, he said._

 _That is what I need from you, she said. I need your very best._

 _Why?_

 _Because I have to be better than the others, if I am to survive, she said. I cannot be just good enough. I have to crush them so they never try me again. No Sith will give that to me. If they can defeat me then I will be dead._

Shemric blew out a long breath and considered her. He did _not_ understand, nor did he perhaps, want to, but her explanation made sense. She needed him to be hard on her.

"I would do anything for you, Julienne Qa," he said quietly. "If that is what you need."

She came to him slowly then and embraced him awkwardly in their armor. It went on for some time before she whispered in his ear. "I need the best of you, Shem. Everything you can give."

"Then I will try harder," he whispered back.

She stepped back and regarded him in the moonlight. _Very well, shall we attempt that again?_

 _As you wish,_ he said. _But I am going to kick your ass._

 _I am counting on it, she said._

 _Then don't say I did not warn you, he said. Put away that red saber._

 _She put away_ the Sith weapon and took out two training blades.

 _Two? he asked. Since when do you fight with two?_

 _I have been branching out, she said. Now keep your thoughts to yourself or this whole thing is pointless._ He pulled his Force-pike off his back and attacked her with it. It was not what she was expecting and he pushed her back steadily as she wheeled and spun with the two weapons. It was not her normal style and he had to be cautious because she fought quite differently. Without the intensity of the previous encounter, they worked their way down from the heights until they reached the more open beach at which point he ignited the practice blade at the other end of his pike. Her eyes widened in surprise as he pushed her back into the surf. He finally disarmed her with a paralyzing strike to the wrist and another to her other arm at the elbow; she cried out and lost grip on both blades that dropped into the water and then he kicked her in the chest-plate right as a wave pushed her from behind. The effect knocked the wind out of her and she was capsized by the surf.

 _Do not drown on me,_ he called as he dragged her head out of the water and pulled her to the beach where she flopped unceremoniously in the sand. Shemric went back for her sabers and located them before the tide washed them away. He disassembled them in mid-air and let the water drain off before putting them back together and tossed them to lie next to Julienne.

"Well, have you had enough, yet?" he asked.

 _I do believe so_ , she groaned as she sat up to regard him. Her hair was a straggly mess and she was covered in sand. _It is never half-way with you._

"You did not want half-way," he said. "And I warned you. Come on, we have about six hundred meters back to our bungalow." He started walking and eventually she caught up and matched his stride.

 _Are you angry at me again?_ she asked.

 _What would be the point? he asked. I may as well be angry at the sand for being gritty or the water for being wet._

She laughed then and took his hand in a very companionable way. It was absurd really, the Jedi and the Sith walking down the deserted beach hand in hand. Julienne did not speak or send him anything but contentment to be there at that time and place, with him. It was enough.

"I have to wash all this stuff out," said Julienne when they were back at the dock and the path to their hut.

"OK," he said and suddenly grabbed her chest plate and belt and with a Force-enhanced heave, tossed her off the dock. Her splash was impressive and she came up spluttering and cursing him, but he was laughing so hard at the expression on her face that he fell over. She promptly returned the favor with a firehose velocity stream of sea water that knocked him off the dock into the ocean. It was his turn to come up spluttering and choking as his laughter went on unabated. Eventually he dragged himself up onto the dock again and peeled out of his wet gear that he hung on a convenient clothes line near the end of the pier. He jumped as Julienne smacked him on the bottom as she ran by, sprinting down the dock to cannonball into the water. He watched her disappear off into the surf, laughed and followed her into the water.

They cavorted in the ocean until Julienne swam back to the dock and pulled herself out to look down at him. He could not see anything but shadows as the moon was at her back.

 _I know you did not like that today, but it was exactly what I needed,_ she said. _I had to fight my very best just to keep you from smacking me down. I am not sure what I will do to keep you on the edge, but I will think of something._ She felt amused to him and he did not look forward to what she might plan. He pulled himself out to sit next to her.

 _Is every day going to be as long as this one, because if so, I am going to be worn out in a very short time, he asked?_

 _No, but I wanted to start with a bang, she said,_ and slapped him on the thigh. _This needs to be a vacation for both of us, as well as training. I sense we both have great challenges ahead._

Shemric drew inside himself and tried to look into the future and follow the paths she was seeing, but as usual, his skill in that area was lacking.

 _It will not be tomorrow, so do not start worrying or you will be terrible company, she said._

That brought a laugh. _Well, I would hate to be bad company, so I will try, he said._ He stood and pulled her to her feet before he mischievously bent over and tossed her over his shoulder. She squeaked a very un-Sith-like sound as he smacked her on the bottom.

 _What is this? she asked. Have I reverted back to your yum-yum?_

 _You will always be my yum-yum, he replied. So stop complaining. It is my prerogative to toss you over my shoulder and carry you back to my lair to ravish you as I wish._

 _Oh, is it now? she replied,_ and she sounded more amused than ever. _You better tie me up if you think I am going to agree to that, she said._

After a considerable wrestling match, they both lay quietly, without speaking.

 _Yum-yums do not have to be totally submissive,_ she sent in amusement. _Plus, I think I have a lot more bruises from training than you do._

 _That would be where you were wrong, he said in satisfaction._

 _You did not, she said, irritated._

He smiled inwardly. It had been very easy to hide the healing when she was distracted. And now that it was done she could hardly complain.

 _You are impossible! she said. I earned those._

 _Well, if we are going to do it all again tomorrow you need to be at the top of your game._

She harrumphed loudly but did not argue.

 _You know I am right, so stop pouting, he said._

 _Where did you find the anger in the second fight? she asked._ The change of subject surprised him.

 _I did not need anger, just necessity, he replied as he nuzzled her neck._

 _Will you stop that? I am trying to have a serious conversation._

 _Uh, we are sleeping on a deserted island on Zeltron, speaking to each other in our minds, he pointed out. How serious can this conversation really be?_

* * *

Shem awoke to the daylight and started to get up. He had very often been forced to rise and begin functioning on a moment's notice and his body and brain had synced themselves to accommodate the need. The sudden wakefulness caused Julienne to start as well and he sensed her throwing out her Force-awareness, searching for threats.

 _I am sorry I woke you, he said._

 _We do not have to get up until we wish, she pointed out._

 _I know, how strange is that, he asked?_

 _Very, but I am sleeping in on the first day of our honeymoon, she said. And you are staying with me._ She gently but firmly wrap his consciousness in hers and quieted all the concerns in his mind. With no concerns to keep him up, his body took over and went back to sleep.

It was considerably later when they stirred again.

Shem felt Julienne stretching next to him and he did the same thing to ease sore muscles.

 _That was lovely_ , was all Julienne could say.

 _Agreed_.

 _Imagine what it would be like to do that every day, she mused._

 _I imagine the impact would be lessened with overuse, he said._

 _Probably, but still …_ her thoughts sounded almost nostalgic as she stretched again and arched her back up off the bed.

 _Stop or we will never get anything done today,_ he said _. I am hungry._

 _Well, yum-yums don't have to cook, so I am lying in bed until breakfast is ready._


	20. Chapter 20

After breakfast, or lunch as it were, they investigated their sodden gear out on the lines and found that it had dried very little in the high humidity.

"I am not sure I can make myself put that back on," said Shem.

Julienne was wrinkling her nose at the smell of her own gear. "We should put this stuff in the bungalow and blow it with the fan," she suggested. "I know they try to make it seem quaint, but it has full air-conditioning and we could dry out our stuff if we close all the windows. We should go run in the meantime."

"You, suggesting a run?" he said, feigning surprise.

A clump of dirt impacted the back of his head a moment later and he gave her a flat stare. She was wearing her hat, her tiny swimsuit and thankfully, a sports bra now, but no shoes.

 _You have converted me to the importance of physical fitness as a component of fighting effectiveness, she said. Don't rub it in._ She nodded with her head.

They carried all their armor up to the bungalow and arranged it to dry on the furniture as best they could, before closing all the windows turning on the several fans and cranking up the AC to max. Hopefully that would suck some of the humidity out of the air.

 _Shall we see how big our island is?_ She did not wait for his reply, but ran off and he was not surprised to note that her lightsaber was attached somehow to her sports bra. He picked up his own blade and started off after her. Despite her supposed dislike of running, she had an open, efficient stride and was able to set a very fair pace when they ran together.

He fell in alongside her comfortably and they enjoyed the play of the breeze on their sweaty skin. It was not hot, but the humidity was very high and the sweat poured out of them with the effort.

 _You are correct, she said. I am beginning to enjoy this._ He had not really said anything; it was more a general sense of what he was feeling but she read him accurately all the same. _I do not have a plan for training, so you are going to have to suggest some creative ideas to keep us on our toes._

 _Ok, he said,_ and Force-shoved her sideways into the water. She just managed to meet his blade as she scrambled to her feet, dripping, and they both had to deal with the unsure footing as the surf rose and fell behind them and the sand shifted. Instead of being irritated at him, she was smiling as she engaged him and he wondered again at the woman he had 'married.' She was not like anyone he had ever known, which made sense when you considered he did not know many Sith .

After the initial flurry of blades, she started tossing sand at him, or slapping him with water, and once, she even sent a fish of some kind flying through the air. That one surprised him enough that he had to dodge sideways and in so doing, lost his footing. He resurfaced with a distinct stinging sensation on his chest where she had "run him through" while he was floundering in the water.

 _Very good, she said. I can see that you are embracing the training. By the way, you lost that one._

He looked down at his chest. _I noticed._

Their days were like that. Sometimes they slept in and sometimes they woke up early and ran through the sunrise. After a week, they had covered most every part of the island and knew the terrain. That was when Shemric made his next suggestion.

 _I think we need to practice hiding from each other, and by extension, others, in the Force,_ he said one morning after a lazy breakfast and swim in the ocean. _Other Force users can find us easily and we ignore our other senses when we rely too heavily on our Force sensitivity._

She nodded to him. _I have never heard of a Force-user training to be better without the Force, but your suggestion holds logic._

They did some hard physical training during the day and then slept away the late afternoon and evening until dark. When Shem awoke, he slipped quietly out of the bed, gathered his training gear and snuck out of the bungalow while trying to suppress the sound. He dressed on the dock and then started jogging along the beach while he simultaneously reduced his Force-signature slowly until he held it tightly to himself. From the beach he climbed up into the forested area and found a place to sit and meditate and wait for Julienne to find him.

Julienne awoke alone in the dark and was surprised how much that feeling bothered her. What was more, she could not sense Shemric anywhere. She realized that he has slipped away and this was part of their training. It was clever and once again she smiled at her decision to bring him here to train; she would never have thought of such a thing on her own. So be it. They would hunt each other in the dark.

She dressed without light and applied paint to her face to break up the outline before she covered her head with her hood. She took the new saber that Shem had constructed for her earlier in the week and held it in her palm. Like all things he made her, it felt like it had been designed for her hand. It also had the dual-purpose, training and regular blades similar to the one he had made for her back on Balmorra with the internal switch. She switched it on just for a moment and the crimson blade glowed with life. This was going to be interesting.

She stalked carefully into the forest and tried to convince herself that she was not uncomfortable relying on her physical senses. Force-users became accustomed to a keen awareness of their position in the world through their connection to the Living Force and she felt blind as she worked her way deeper into the trees. What's more, she realized that she had also been reaching through Shem and tapping into his senses to extend her own reach even further. Despite her best efforts, she knew she was making sound; she was not adept at moving through living things. There was a low hum of insects and birds that would cover some of her movement, but she felt at a disadvantage.

She crossed back and forth in the trees for the better part of an hour and wondered if this were not some great joke Shem was playing on her and if she returned, she would find him back in bed, sleeping. She knew that was not true, but was beginning to feel impatient. She knew if she wanted to find Shem, she could do it in moments; no matter how much he tried, he could not hide completely from her in the Force. She was simply more sensitive than he was, but finding him that way felt like cheating and she was going to play this out.

When the attack came, it was not a complete surprise. No matter how she suppressed it, she could not help but sense Shem's presence when he was close. It gave her a split-second to brace for impact an instant before she was shoved violently sideways by a flying kick. She landed awkwardly on her arm and rolled to her feet, but he was on top of her so quickly she just managed to switch on her saber before his crashed into hers. The hurt arm combined with his momentum were too much and she lost her grip with a cry just as he kicked her again in the arm. She went down in a heap, gasping and could do nothing as his blade descended rapidly until it stopped centimeters from her neck.

"Die, Sith!" he delivered so melodramatically that she found herself laughing.

 _I am glad you liked my performance, he said. I wondered if you were ever going to get close enough for me to surprise you._

 _I knew you were there, sort of, she said. You can never really hide from me._ She sensed his frustration.

 _Then there is really no point to this, he said. Except, I did just kick you on your tail so you could not have known exactly where I was._

 _No, it is not exact, but I knew you were in the general area, she admitted. And yes, you just kicked me on my tail. And hurt my arm. I think this training has merit. Maybe even more for me than for you. I have to concentrate to_ not _try and sense you. It is distracting and probably evens things out between us._

 _Well, I did not sense you at all, he said. I just had to listen for your sounds._ He approached and took her arm. She could feel his healing touch and the pain and discomfort ease.

 _You make me soft, healing my hurts as soon as they happen, she pointed out._

 _I had not noticed, he said._

 _I do not want to wander all over the woods for an hour again, she said. Why don't we try and focus this a bit more with new rules. We each have to hunt the other. No stopping for longer than a minute or so. I suspect you probably move better in nature than I but I can sense you easier, so it may work._

 _Very well, he agreed. I am going to move up the hill 100 meters. You go down. You do not have to move in a straight line but try not to roam too far out. If we go too long without meeting, we will just reset and try again._

She agreed and moved off down the hill. After about a hundred or so paces she stopped and listened and then started creeping back the way she had come. After twenty or so minutes, she was fairly sure she knew where he was, but she doubted she would surprise him either and that proved to be the case. She opened with her red saber that he met with his blue one and the birds in the trees flew off shrieking their displeasure at the lightshow taking place in their forest. They fought to a draw and then parted to stalk one another over again.

Most of the encounters were a draw, though Shem did manage to surprise her one more time when he dropped on her from a tree. She complained that was not in the rules and he laughed and asked what rules exactly they were following. He was correct and she congratulated him on it. He seemed insufferably pleased with himself, so the next time she broke the rule and only moved a short distance before stopping in a dark patch to wait for him. She refused to answer when he called out to her thirty minutes later and he came looking for her as she knew he would. When he finally approached, she still could not hear him over the sounds of the forest, even when she knew he was there. She opened herself up just a tiny thread to get a sense of his direction just as she felt him leaping towards her. That split-second was enough and she caught him with lightning mid-leap and he howled as his attack turned into an awkward crashing into the bushes. He came up saber in hand, an angry expression on his face and Julienne smiled inwardly; this would be good.

He came at her in a whirl of blades that drove her back step by step and she could feel his anger pulsing as he pounded at her with his all-out attacking style. She settled into Sorensu as he had taught her and let him extinguish his energy against her defense. At least, that was how it was supposed to go, but he did not tire easily and he was stronger and faster than she. Still, she rode out his attack calmly using her defensive form and tried to show patience. At least she did until a stick near her foot moved, causing her to lose her balance, wrench her ankle and receive a shocking whack to the ribs.

She sensed Shem's anger rush out of him in a gushing river and he felt much like his normal self.

 _That was very good, he said._

 _And yet, you still won, she said._ She was not sure if she was upset that she had cheated and still lost, or just that she had lost to him again.

 _Only because I surprised you with the stick, he said. Before that your Sorensu was impressive. And showed patience. You become very dangerous, my dear._

 _I should not have been surprised by the stick, she said. You never are when I throw stuff at you._

 _That is because I rarely do it, he said. Some things need to be held in check until the moment you need them._

 _Like you did against Malgus, she said._

 _Exactly, he agreed. The fight would have been easier had I used my trick earlier, but by waiting, I left him no defense._

 _You are a very clever boy, she complimented._

His snort was very quiet in the night air. _I never understand why all you Sith insist on calling me a boy, he said._

 _Well, the others mean it to be condescending, but for this Sith, it is a term of endearment._ She could not see his smile, but she sensed it, and she gave him a sending with similar sentiment. He would always be her Jedi boy.

The light was just beginning to show as he reached out a hand to help her rise.

"Would you care to watch the sunrise from the top of the hill, my lady Sith?" he asked.

"I believe I would," she said.

They sat a long time without speaking until the sun was well up. She knew they were both steamy in their armor but Shem seemed content to share the moment quietly and ignore the physical discomfort.

 _You never commented about my cheating, she said finally._

 _There are no rules to what we were doing, he said. I suspect we two are too closely linked for the training to be as effective as we might like. On the other hand, I doubt any Jedi or Sith would consider doing anything of the sort, so we will probably still come out ahead. That is as it should be._ He felt very pleased with her, like a teacher with a prized student.

 _Or like a lover with his woman, said Shem. You cannot hide your thoughts as easily anymore, dear. I realized that if you are to survive to be my woman in the future, then I cannot hold anything back._

 _It was a good idea, she said. What will you think of next?_

 _Who knows? I am sure something will come to me. It might help if I knew what we are trying to accomplish, specifically, he said._

 _I need to be ready for anything when I get back, she said._

 _Well, that is a bit too general to be useful, he send back._

 _I know. That is why I am counting on you to think of things like this that will help me. And you have._

He sighed and said nothing more. She sensed his frustration but she really could not offer any other suggestions. Anything could happen when she returned. It was not unheard of for Sith to be offered ascension and then quickly destroyed because there were a threat.

 _Well, I feel grimy and sleepy, he said. Let us go and swim and then go to bed._

 _Agreed,_ and they walked back to the bungalow in silence.

* * *

They continued to train hard but no new ideas came to them and after two weeks, Julienne declare it was time for a day off and a picnic. Their particular island was one of a dozen within view, but none of the others were very large; in fact, most of them were just rocky crags jutting out of the water, except for one that had some vegetation and few palm trees on top.

 _So we are going to swim over to the island, eat lunch, lie in the sun, spend the night and swim back? Shem asked as she was packing a waterproof bag._ They had some basic diving gear—mostly masks, snorkels and fins with some simple breathers—that came with the little shack and after some trial and error they adjusted it all to fit. They had admitted to each other that while each of them could swim, neither had done anything but splash around in artificial pools. It would be a bit of an adventure.

They set off for their destination at mid-day and the water was the same comfortable temperature it was most of the year here, since they were pretty much on the equator. It was very odd to be looking down into the water to see fish swim by and the occasional larger ocean denizen, including a few that Shem did not recognize at all. Their pace was leisurely and it took them an hour to reach the rocky crag. They circled the tiny island until they decided where to climb and then began the surprising arduous trip up the face of the rock. They had both decided there would be no challenge if they used the Force, so they had to backtrack on several occasions when they could climb no higher.

 _I am pretty sure my muscles are going to be more sore from this than anything we have done so far, pointed out Shem._

 _Agreed, she said. And we are stuck. I think if we could get to that handhold right there we would be fine, but I can't reach it and I don't think you can climb past me._

Shemric had reached the same conclusion but had an idea. _If you climb back down, I can swing you over to that spot to our left and then you can climb up and lower your foot to me._

 _I can't see what you are talking about, she said._ But she started to descend slowly until they were standing on the same small ledge. She was looking dubiously at the spot he pointed, but finally agreed. He moved above her and found a hold of which he was sure and then took her hand and walked her across to the other handhold. Soon, she had moved up to the location they were trying to reach and extended a foot down to him.

 _Ok, I have a grip. Do it, she said._

Shem put his hand around her ankle and heaved himself up to a position below her and she started up again. Within a few minutes they were gasping on the top, looking out over the ocean as the sun began to set.

 _Nice timing, he said._

 _It was, wasn't it, she agreed._

They sat without conversation and Shem reached across and took her hand. She gave him fingers a small squeeze and smiled at him. When the light had disappeared entirely, they set about starting a fire with some of the wood they had put in the waterproof bag and soon they had a small campfire going and began to warm their food over the fire.

 _My parents took me camping a few times, she said._

 _Mine, too, he replied. I wondered why you wanted to do this._

 _Things come back to me, she said._ She was cooking a small piece of meat over the flame and slowly twirling the stick. _You make me remember all sorts of things. Around you, I can remember that we were happy sometimes. Before the hiding._

 _One time, said Shem, my dad took us up into the mountains. We were supposed to make these pancakes, only he forgot to pack utensils so we had to stir the batter with a stick and try and flip it in the pan. Without the non-stick spray._ He chuckled. _A lot of them ended up in the fire._

 _Because you missed the pan, or they were burnt? she asked._

 _Hah! Both, he said._

 _Well, I am not eating charred food, she said._ She pulled the meat off the stick and took a bite. _Not too bad._

Once they were finished eating, they went back to sit on the edge of the rock and watch the moon rise over the horizon. It was quite full that night.

The water sparkled far below them like tiny jewels and Shemric had to wonder about how different Julienne seemed, here, far away from her Sith origins.

 _I am trying to taste a little bit of normal living before I plunge back into the fray, she said._

 _Are we going to have to have a big fight again this time, when we part, asked Shemric?_ He was only partially serious, but he knew that Julienne probably knew something.

 _Probably, she said._ When he looked disappointed she continued. _Not against each other. If we stay too long, someone is bound to come looking for us._

 _And how are we going to know it is too long, he asked?_

She shrugged as if it was not a big concern.

 _Do you remember the last few weeks we were on Balmorra, he asked?_

She chortled. _We were so dramatic back then, weren't we? So full of each other. So sure we knew the best way._

 _Have we changed then, he asked?_

She bumped him with her shoulder. _Of course! You have learned to trust me to tell you what to do._

 _More or less, I suppose, he agreed._

She reached and took his hand and they sat there quietly without speaking. It seemed to Shem they were sitting on the edge of the world.

 _We should jump, he suggested suddenly._

 _What, she asked in surprise?_

 _No Force. Just gravity and into the water. People do this for fun all the time._

 _Not this person, she said. And I am not climbing back up here in the dark. I am not even sure if I could._

 _We will drop our rope down, he said._ Shem stood suddenly and went back to their bags for the rope they had found. He thought it might be intended for clothesline, but it was very strong. He quickly tied it around one of the three palm trees and returned to the ledge.

 _I am not jumping, she said._

 _OK, he said. There is no reason to be afraid._ With that, he pushed off and felt an unfamiliar jolt in his stomach. He had never felt that when he leaped about using the Force. It was terrifying and uncomfortable just for a moment until the water slapped him hard. It was shocking and cool and he felt a moment of disorientation until he relaxed and floated to the surface. He moved back in case she changed her mind.

 _Well, what was it like, she asked?_

 _It was kind of terrifying, in truth, he said. Always before, I relied on the Force to slow my fall but this time I felt like I was at the mercy of gravity. Like everyone else, I guess. Once I jumped, I was no longer in control._

 _Fine, she said finally, but I am going to scream on the way down._ Shemric looked up and could just make out her pale form on the edge of the rock. Long moments passed and then he saw movement and a shrill cry that descended until her splashed showered him. She came up moments later gasping for air.

 _Oh, by Korriban's blazing hells, that was …_ she did not finish. He could sense, like him that she had been both exhilarated and scared. _We should do that again._

He laughed and splashed water at her before they used the rope to climb back up to the top of the rock.

 _I can't believe you got me to do that, she said. Shall we jump together this time?_

 _On three, he said. One, two, three!_ They jumped together and he tried out her scream on the way down and found that it helped. When they had both resurfaced, she was laughing.

 _You sounded like a little girl, she crowed! Again._

By the end of the second climb, Shem's muscles were screaming at him.

 _This is the last one for me, he said. I do not think my arms can take another climb._

 _I was thinking the same thing, she agreed. Shall we make this one especially exciting by adding a Force-leap?_

 _As you say, my dear, he agreed._ They gathered their energy and leaped high in the air before joining in twin screams as the freefall started. At the last second before they hit Julienne let out a loud laugh that was cut off sharply by their impact in the water. When they came to the surface Shem was not sure if she was coughing up water or still laughing.

 _I got water up my nose that time, she said. I am done._

They were both exhausted after their last climb up the rock face and fell asleep quickly after finally reaching their blankets.

* * *

When Shem awoke, he lay staring at the stars for some time while he pondered what they might try next. The main weakness of their 'program' was that it was always just Shem vs. Julienne and despite trying to vary their fighting styles, both of them had a basic manner in which they approached combat. It was very difficult to mimic the style of others and be very effective at it, especially against a skilled opponent.

They had used all the island's varying terrain to change the footing and slope; they had fought in the densely forested part of the island; they had trained in the hottest part of the day and darkest phase of the moonless night. They had fought in armor and in their swim gear. Shemric was at a loss for how to vary their workouts and he sensed that Julienne was anxious to continue improving. He did not fully understand her driving need, but it was very real to her and if that was she felt was necessary for her to survive, he meant to do his best to provide it.

Shem suspected she was going to need to show him some of her past encounters in order to better understand what she was facing. Whether she wanted him to see those was another question entirely.

 _You are probably right about that, she said._

Shemric twitched in surprise and turned to look at Julienne. She had wild sleep-hair from swimming and then the night and he could not help but chuckle at the sight.

 _Something you find amusing, she asked?_

 _Do you listen in on all my private thoughts, he replied?_

 _Listening in makes it sound like I am actively spying on you, she said._ He could sense a touch of amusement in her thoughts. _You are not very practiced at guarding what you are thinking and when we are sleeping together, well … let's just say, to me it sounds like you are talking right in my ear. Sometimes it is a whisper and sometimes when you are very focused, or you are thinking about me, it is almost like you are shouting._

"Sorry," he mumbled.

 _It really does not bother me, she said. In fact, it makes my life easier. I don't have to guess what you are really thinking._

 _That hardly seems fair, he pointed out._

She snorted rather rudely. _Shem, around me I could guess what you are thinking 90 percent of the time without ever having to listen in on your thoughts._

He tried to ignore her smug expression. _So, are you going to share with me some of your conflicts to give me some ideas?_

 _I will, she said, just not this morning._ She kissed him quickly, turned her back on him and pulled the blanket over her head.

They got to jump one more time before starting their swim back to the island. It had been a pleasant break, but Shem now could sense how tightly Julienne was focused, as if she was trying to make some decision and did not want him listening in on her thought process. She had claimed on several occasions he would not want to see some of the things she had done, so he assumed she was sorting through her memories to decide which ones to present. She actually went off for a mid-morning walk on her own before coming back and declaring she was ready.

What she finally showed him was about even parts her own private battles and the combat she had observed from other Sith Lords and apprentices. When she finished, he sat back and thought on it for a bit before she finally queried him.

 _What do you see there as a common thread, she asked?_

 _You guys throw a lot of power around, he said._

 _Yes, she agreed. Shemric, you think of fighting as a contest between two people with lightsabers and everything else is just unwanted noise. I think that is a failing of many Jedi I have met. The difference is, you are VERY good with a lightsaber and the associated physical requirements to yield it. Plus, you are good about avoiding the blunt force use of the Force by your opponents. This comes back to a basic Jedi vs. Sith philosophy—are we here to serve the Force or the other way around. Your highly aggressive attack form that feeds off your righteous anger, as you deem it, is a blend of using and serving the will of the Force. Your mentality is just not really offensively minded._

Shemric knew she was correct and was not sure how to change a lifelong fighting style. His father had always told him that a warrior who limited himself to what he was good at left himself open to failure when someone came along who was better. "You might not be better than your opponent at your strength, but if you were flexible you might be able to beat him at your weakness. Shemric's lack of offensive-minded fighting was a weakness.

 _You have gone pretty far away, Shemric, what are you thinking now,_ she asked, after a time?

 _I am just shifting my paradigm to fit yours a little better, he said. I think you make good points._

 _I suspect that you have always used a defensive-minded, energy conserving strategy and you will find that you are much more powerful than you expect when you consistently push yourself, she suggested._

 _Who is training who here, he asked?_

 _You have to survive to hold up your end of the bargain, she pointed out._

 _But I am not going to have a bunch of Jedi Masters attacking me when I go back to Tython, he said._ "Although, they may just decide after abandoning my post again to simply kick me out of the order," he mumbled.

 _Well, don't let them, she said. I am going to need a Jedi on the inside before this is over._

Shem nearly ask her what that was about, but hated it when she refused to tell, so he did not bring it up. They waited until late afternoon and decided there was no point in going further than their closest beach to begin again. They walked out of the bungalow fully armed and armored, and Shem mused how out of place they were on that remote, peaceful beach, two creatures about to go to war on each other.

In the beginning, it did not go very well with Shemric. Julienne was correct in thinking that he nearly always focused on attacking with his saber, but it went further than that. His use of the Force was very passive and while it enhanced his speed, reaction time and strength to a degree, it was never overwhelming. Commander Neord had once called him a scalpel, not a hammer. Becoming the hammer was not something that came easily to him.

It was also exhausting. The Force could be used to for many things, but when you relied upon it heavily, it could quickly leave you mentally drained and physically tired. They actually trained less in the first few days than they had before and Shemric slept long and hard, thanks to his proximity to Julienne, who always slept well. Julienne defeated him more often than not and she was constantly yelling at him to stop thinking so much. It was the fourth day of their new regime when it finally began to click for him.

They were among the trees towards the top of the island and Julienne had just giving him a stinging, burn on the arm and berated him for his slow reaction. Without thinking he had struck back with a tremendous Force-blast that flung her like a rag doll through the air to land roughly in some prickly bushes. She came to her feet with murder in her eyes and leapt back towards him, but without thought he swatted her aside so that she skidded and bounced along the ground before coming to rest next to a rotten, fallen tree. This time she came to her feet more slowly, but he gave her no time to react as he ripped the turf out from under her feet as he charged. She barely got her saber up to block his and then he kicked her in the chest hard enough that she flew backwards and did an ungraceful flip over the fallen tree. When he rounded the exposed trunk and roots she was moving feebly and he stepped on her wrist that held the saber and put his own to her neck.

Her eyes were triumphant when she looked up at him. _That's more like it, Shemric dear. Now, show me you can do that every time._ She leapt towards him without even igniting her saber and he reached out with the Force to smash her again; or at least, he attempted to do so, but something in his mind prevented him and she crashed into him causing them both to go tumbling. Shemric felt like he could barely control his own body and could not prevent her from clamping her hands to his throat.

 _You choked me unconscious once, she said. Let's see how you like it._

Shem's vision was going dark as he looked up at once-gorgeous face, covered in dirt and an even more disturbing rictus of rage. As his oxygen ran out, he relaxed completely and detached himself. He sensed the Force around him in a way he had never experienced before that day. The plants, the trees, even the two humans were all connected with a network of energy that seemed so obvious to him then. He used that energy-not to break the connection to the woman-but to increase the distance between their joined energies. It was not a violent separation, but it prevented her from attacking his mind and body at the same time.

Shemric sucked in a great gulp of air and slammed back into his normal consciousness to see Julienne suspended above him in the air, unmoving, with a shocked expression on her face. He realized he had frozen her in space and somehow reached out and undid what he had done so that she fell to the ground with a sharp cry.

 _What in all the Seven Lower Hells of Korriban did you just do! she shouted in his mind?_ The expression on her face was a mix of fear and awe that made Shem very uncomfortable.

 _We reach new heights of stupidity every time you try to kill me, he grumbled._ Shem bent slightly to brush the grass and dirt out of his hair without taking his eyes off of Julienne. She seemed angry, mad or terrified enough to do something rash.

"Rash," she yelled? She came to her feet inhumanly quickly and ignited her saber at the same moment. Shem met her strike and they stood there straining while their blades hissed and spluttered. He dodged her hasty kick and disengaged to leap back. The huge clod that he threw in her face barely slowed her at all and he had to leap aside in surprise. The entire forest came alive as debris flew at him from all directions. The old Shem would have leapt up or aside, but he stopped moving and simply felt his way along the energy bindings and separated them so that everything she had thrown fell to the ground.

 _How are you doing that!_ she yelled as she came at him again _._

 _Feel it with me,_ and pulled her into his mind through their link. He had never attempted anything like it before, but today it was easy. They were suspended in the moment as he showed her what he had learned about the Force bindings and its connecting energy. They shared a moment of wonder before Shem's consciousness fled and everything went dark.

Shem was surprised to wake up on the beach, sunning near the dock in their normal spot. Julienne was next to him wearing her big, ugly, green hat and her face wore a more determined expression than normal.

 _It is always something with you, she said. You realized we are still lying unconscious on that hill, probably getting eaten alive by bugs. I am just glad you finally came back. You did something weird again and I had to fix you._

 _You should probably stop trying to kill me, he suggested._

 _I have never tried to kill you, she said._ Her face showed her distaste for that idea. _In fact, I have done quite the opposite. However, your brain does some strange things when it is in survival mode._

 _You were choking me unconscious, he said!_

 _But I was not going to kill you, idiot, she replied calmly._

 _Well, you will please pardon me if I can't tell the difference, he said._

 _I am not angry about it, she said. I just wish you were not so unpredictable. You spanked me like an unruly youngling back there and fought back against my psionic attack. I will be very interested to see if you can remember how to do that odd Force-connection thing that you pulled me into before your brain shut down. Or if I can._

 _Does the fact that you and I are speaking mean we can go back to our bodies, he asked?_

 _In a moment, she said. I am trying to analyze what happened. Unsuccessfully._

Shem stopped directing his thoughts to her and waited. Or it seemed like he waited. The dream played tricks on your mind. She would take them back when she was ready.

 _Hopefully we don't get any hostile visitors for a while,_ she said suddenly, and Shem gave a mental flinch. _I suspect we are going to have to sleep this one off._ With that, the dream disappeared and Shem was back in his own body.

He let out a long groan and tried to roll to his hands and knees. His head was pounding with such pain he could hardly think and he could not even send a thought to Julienne.

"Shem? Are you there?" came Julienne's tentative voice.

It was dark night out, before the moon and his eyes could not seem to adjust. He closed them again and tried to feel his surroundings, but the pain in his head increased and he let out a cry and collapsed again.

"Shem, are you all right?"

A dark shadow loomed above him, but he could not focus on her face.

"I cannot… see very well …" he said and trailed off. He hoped he had not gone blind.

"I cannot get a thought through to your mind either," said Julienne. He saw the shadow move and felt her groping along his arm to take his hand. "Help me out a bit here," she said and tried to pull him to his feet. "I think I fixed some of the problems in your brain, but there are some physical issues that are beyond me. Let's see if we can get you back to our bed." She looped his arm over her shoulder and they trudged off down the mountain. The going was slow and Shemric had to stop and rest every few minutes. It must have taken most of an hour to make it to the bungalow and Shem just wanted to flop on the bed and sleep for days, but Julienne bullied him out of his clothes and into the shower. The hot water felt wonderful until his legs cramped and he cried out as he collapsed. Julienne came and dragged him out of the shower, dried him off and pulled him up onto the bed. He did not need her help to disappear into sweet unconsciousness moments later.

Julienne looked down on Shem's now peaceful face and shook her head. Her pet Jedi had outdone himself today. She doubted he would appreciate the reference, but when she had returned from Balmorra, Darth Acina had always referred to Shemric as "your Jedi pet" and the nickname had stuck in her head. Julienne suspected that if Acina ever met Shemric in person she would find out that he was neither tame nor anyone's pet. Julienne humored herself into thinking that she manipulated him into following her lead, but forgetting who he really was had cost her on a number of occasions.

She stripped down and dragged herself off to the shower where she let the hot water soothe away some of her aches. She was really getting soft if she had become used to Shem healing her bruises and pains shortly after dispensing them out himself. She slipped easily into a vision-trance and skimmed the time stream to see if they could expect any threats in the coming hours. Her gift had never worked like that before, but as she sensed a great conflict rushing at them, her ability to see into the possible futures had become more precise and she was better able to predict outcomes. She was bone-weary and expected they would both be vulnerable for some time and she could not afford that to happen.

When Julienne was satisfied there was no immediate threat, she switched off the water, dried and dressed and then slipped into bed next to Shemric. Both of them slept for a long time.


	21. Chapter 21

Zeltros

Without Shemric's healing touch, waking was an unpleasant experience for Julienne. She was ravenous and immediately gagged down some energy concentrates that would replenish her strength more quickly than real food. She fought down the urge to create the island construct where she could often meet him when they were physically and mentally separated. It was tiring for both of them and he needed rest more than she needed to hear his voice.

Shemric slept all through that day and Julienne felt as lonely as she had ever been in her life. Sharing consciousness with him through these past weeks had accustomed her to his solid, comforting presence during nearly every waking hour and through the night as well. The island that had seemed like as much a home as she could remember—because he was there—now felt empty and silent. She ate, she napped, she meditated and she used her meager healing skills to patch up her own body in small ways.

After the first full day, she started to become concerned that Shemric might have entered a coma-like state. She could often sense when he was dreaming, but she felt none of that now and her attempt to bring him to the island "dream" was also unsuccessful.

An automated boat came every seven days with supplies and fuel, but Julienne consulted her tourist book and found that a medical robot could be requested if necessary. She decided that his condition was beyond her and sent the transmission call when he had been out for more than thirty-six hours. It arrived quite promptly—within three hours—and a med robot came ashore with concerned message from their hosts wishing them a speedy recovery.

Julienne waited for a diagnosis with apprehension; her options right then were very limited. Calling for a medical evac would bring a lot more attention than she wanted and likely lead to him being hospitalized. When the droid reported that his body was fine but his brain activity was minimal, it felt like a punch in the stomach. The droid started an IV and then said it would send for a skimmer to pick him up. She surprised it with a restraining bolt then before breaking into its memory and deleting the diagnosis and replacing it with a routine check-up record. She sent it on its way after taking all the IV fluids and energy drips it had brought with it.

By the end of the third day of unconsciousness, Julienne was starting to feel sick herself as she contemplated her options. She could probably get him off-planet, but where would she take him? It occurred to her that she could take him to his family on Nubia. She had gleaned enough from what he said and his memories that she thought she could find them. Then she shook her head as she imagined showing up there.

 _Hello there, my name is Julienne. Shem might have told you about his illicit Sith lover? Well, I am bringing him back to you unconscious and perhaps brain-dead after I pushed him too hard to do things he clearly could not handle. Don't be angry; he loves me and would consider it a worthy sacrifice. Oh, and by the way, I have to run; my Sith master is expecting me to return so I can become a Sith Lord myself. You know, the Jedi's mortal enemies? Thanks guys, it was nice to meet you._

She would do it if she must, but she had to admit to herself that she would rather face every Sith on the Dark Council than try to explain anything to Shemric's parents. She very much doubted that any parent that could inculcate such character and thinking into Shem-such that it would outlast the Jedi indoctrination-would be the kind of people to accept a simple explanation.

She slept poorly that night and was instantly awake the next morning when she heard a low moan from Shemric. She sat up and felt a jolt of relief when she saw his eyes open as he looked around groggily.

"Whaa … " was about the extent of his initial speech.

She reached out tentatively through their link and whispered lightly in his mind. _Shem, how are you feeling?_

His reply came as an agitated shout in her mind and she had to back out and hold back from him until he calmed down. _Shem, you have been unconscious for three and a half days. Your body is going to feel sluggish._ His response was still frantic and she waited out his mental shouting while his mouth tried to form words.

"Wha … what happened?" he said.

 _You passed out when we came back to the bungalow, she said. I think your body went into a pseudo-coma to compensate and recover._

 _Well, I hope you are happy, he said, disgruntled._ His response seemed calmer now. _I seemed to remember you choking me and me doing something … extreme, but I really can't remember it now._

 _You seem to always have an answer to everything I do, she said. I have never used our mental link to attack your mind and yet, you managed to break it and defend yourself._

Shemric seemed to be coming to a better grasp of his surroundings and he looked down at his arm. _So now your skills extended to IV lines and …_ he grunted … _catheters?_

 _That was not me, she said. I sent for a med droid when you did not wake up._

He nodded and examined his arm. He looked pretty familiar with a field IV and expertly removed and bandaged it with supplies from the IV cart. He groaned when he sat up, but managed it. His stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly.

"I could use some real food," he said.

"How is your head?" she asked tentatively.

"Everything seems to be working; are you asking if I have a headache?" he asked. "It does not hurt when you speak in my head if that was what you were worrying about."

 _Good, because I can't even begin to tell you how much I missed you, she said._ She leaned over and hugged him fiercely and he patted her awkwardly on the back.

 _I think someone kidnapped my favorite Sith and replaced her with a caring, feeling stranger, he joked._

 _Shut up, she said!_ She let him go and spun off the bed to mask the tears at the corner of her eyes and general uncomfortable wetness. She was not an emotional person!

She masked her discomfort while preparing him something form the food supplies and had herself under control by the time she brought it to him in the bed. To his credit, he made no more foolish remarks about her tears, or emotional outburst.

By the end of the day, Shemric was up and walking and they took a stroll around the island at sunset. Julienne said almost nothing as they walked hand-in-hand around the around the three kilometer beach. As a result, Shemric did most of the talking and told her about his visit to his home and his siblings and the conversations with his mother.

"She was remarkably calm about her son taking a Sith lover," said Shem.

 _I am sure your mother sees more than she lets on, said Julienne. Else why did she send you to Coruscant? You told me once that she thought you would be responsible for saving billions of lives. I think the end result of you and me is going to be the fulfillment of that vision._

Shem did not need to say anything out loud for Julienne to sense his agreement with her statement. They walked on in silence after that.

It took nearly a week before Shemric felt back to normal again and by then he said he had one last idea they might try. Julienne asked him to explain.

* * *

"Well, it occurs to me that we fight in a certain style that balances our need to win with our desire to survive," he said. They were sitting on their sunning chairs, enjoying the ocean breeze and Julienne looked out from under her green hat to watch Shem subtly. His facial hair had grown and he had not shaved it all off; his cheeks, neck and upper lip were smooth again but he now had a dark, bristly goatee that Julienne found quite attractive. "What if there comes a moment when you simply have to win without regard to the cost?" Julienne pondered the question and wished that speaking in Shem's head was not causing him headaches.

"So are we going to set a timer, or something, and you have to win before it goes off or … what," she asked?

"That is the general idea," he said. "To shift your thinking such that you go on the attack with no thought for survival."

The idea was so foreign to how Shem thought and fought that she wondered where it had originated. It also suggested something of his thought process for the future; some day they would have to win at any cost, even that of their lives. She knew he was right and let him know.

They ended up rigging a timer to one of the sound speakers in the bungalow and then they took turns on attack and defense. After an hour they were both exhausted and burned or bruised, but Julienne once again saw the wisdom in following Shem's advice. Julienne commented that Shem did not even need her to make him angry to fuel his all-out assaults.

He sniffed quietly and looked away.

"I feel something coming and know we are going to part again soon," he said quietly. "That makes me angry enough I do not need any exterior stimulus."

Julienne could feel his pain and knew it would get worse, for both of them.

After a particularly brutal session several days later, she decided they were finished.

"Does that mean we are going to leave?" Shem asked.

"I don't think so …" said Julienne, and she tried to see some clue in the future to guide them. "No, let it come to us here, on our home ground." It was early afternoon and they walked back to the bungalow to nap and make love and not talk about future conflicts. Julienne felt Shem's despair growing and knew he would need something to sustain him when she was gone. She needed to give him something and so it was with much trepidation that she asked him a question.

 _So what do you imagine you would do, were you to leave the Jedi, she asked?_

They were lying together, tightly entangled and it was not hard to feel his abrupt flinch. She sensed his mind in turmoil and then, after a time, calm.

 _What I do is really irrelevant, he replied. The connections I have made with my family are what really matters._ Julienne tried to think about what he was saying. She had been focused on attaining her title and the honor and power that went with it for so long that it baffled her that Shem did not think such a goal was important. _If you asked my mother what she is, she would tell you that she is a wife, a mother and a healer. My father would simply tell you he is a husband and father. Those are the titles that define him. Oh, he can do many things, but those are all ancillary to what he considers most important._

 _And would you give up being a Jedi Master to become a husband and father, she asked?_

Shem was curled up with her at his back and he disengaged himself to turn and look her in the eyes.

 _I suspect, had I wished it, that I would be a member of the council by now, minus my association with you, he said. And yet, I am here, where I wish to be, not there._

For a moment, Julienne felt a swelling sensation and could not breathe. She had never really thought that he had any aspirations of that nature. She had imagined that he would wait for her, at her convenience, until she was ready for him. It highlighted her selfishness and made her realize what he had sacrificed for the short periods of time they had together. She realized that she owed him so much and had given him back so little.

 _Careful, now, said Shemric. I am going to start thinking you have feelings and emotions, he teased._

Julienne pulled him into her and held on tightly as she fought back tears. Nothing in her visions had changed and they had to separate soon, but she had never regretted it more. _I have feelings, but you are the only person in the galaxy that gets to see them … on occasion._

 _That is enough for me, he said._ And then after a moment, _Uh, can you relax just a bit? I think your nails are leaving furrows in my back._

She laughed. That was another thing she only did around Shemric. _We are going to get through this, Shemric. Somehow._

 _Of course we are, he said. I promised my momma we would provide her with a half-dozen grandbabies. We agreed that half could become Jedi and half Sith Lords._

 _You did not!_

Shemric chuckled. _No, I didn't, but she will have some expectations._

Julienne giggled in a way that only Shemric had ever heard. She did not let him go, though. She was going to hold onto him for as long as she could.

Shemric and Julienne came awake at exactly the same moment and leaped out of bed.

 _Someone is coming._ After ten weeks of being together and four weeks of constant contact, they had meshed so well that Shemric was not sure which of them formed that thought.

 _I was a fool, said Julienne. We stayed too long in one place and now we have no way off the island._

The lights started to come on when the bungalow's sensors noted movement beyond the confines of the bed.

 _How long do you think we have,_ she asked?

Shemric stood still and tried to sense the direction and distance of the threat. Julienne was half dressed by the time he opened his eyes to the low light of the room. _I would guess we have thirty minutes, perhaps a bit more. The reason we sensed them so far away is likely not good news for us; they mean us harm and are focused on it._

 _How many, she asked?_

 _Two or three craft of some kind. Maybe thirty men. Some of those may be pilots._

Julienne shook her head. _They still do not take us very seriously, do they?_

 _What do you mean, he asked?_

 _Thirty men? That is what they send to take us, she said derisively?_

 _Uh, what if they are Sith Lords who are not very fond of you, he shot back?_

 _They won't be, she said,_ and then continued to strap on her armor. _There probably won't even be one. I'll bet they are soldiers and marauders. We could eat them for breakfast without even having to belch._

He would have laughed at her statement if they were not about to join battle with people intent to kill them. He could sense an anticipation in Julienne. A desire to test herself against her enemies.

 _And why should I not? You have done your work well here. This is just a last test. It could even be my own master who sent them. It is just as well we hid our track so well. We had a month to hone our skills. Let them come!_ She was now fully armored but she had yet to put her hair under the hood and it blew out behind her like a black cape in the wind through the bungalows open windows.

Her face was dark and tanned and she looked beautiful and formidable at the same time. When she smiled at him, he felt his chest tighten and he could not breathe. He did not know if it was fear of her safety, fear of what she might do to their attackers or simply overwhelming gratitude that she was his.

 _I am glad you finally understand that, she said. Now_ fool _, enough sentiment. Get in your armor and meet me at the top of the island._ She was out the door in a swirl of blowing hair and he was left to contemplate that time together was ending again. Well, they had to stay alive for that to happen. He fastened buckles, tightened straps and attached weapons before running out the door after her.

* * *

Julienne sat calmly on a rocky outcrop, and sensed Shemric's progress to meet her. She was sweating heavily inside her armor and its internal coolers were not compensating. She thought about what she had told Shem about his training of her and found that she knew it to be true. She had never been a more dangerous warrior than today on this island. He had given her his best and she had given her best back. There was no sense in worrying if she was ready to ascend; her preparation could not be better. If she worried, it was that her attachment to Shemric was very strong now and it would be hard to hide. She would need time away from him to meditate and prepare herself if she did not wish all her secrets to be revealed.

Shemric walked up at that moment, breathing easily. She could sense his unease, but it was not for himself. He never felt nervous or worried or scared unless it concerned his little Juju. That had very much irritated her in the beginning, but then she had begun to see it as endearing and then finally, a gift. She had known she was true and wholly caught when she realized she felt the same for him. Well, she was doing her part to see that they had a future and they had to survive today to do that. She had seen nothing of this attack and knew it was because she had lingered overlong on the island and not sought out her visions regularly. She hoped the price for that error would not be their deaths this day.

 _They have split now and are coming from three directions, he pointed out._

She had sensed that as well, and said nothing.

 _What do you think we should do, she asked?_ She sensed his surprise. Normally she told him what to do. Keeping him off balance was difficult and sometimes required her to do things she knew he did not like.

 _We should separate, but not too far, and make them come to us down in the trees, he began. We use surprise to winnow their numbers a bit and then come back together to finish them off._

 _Do you think you could mask yourself well enough to take one of the skimmers, she asked?_ His plan was not so different than she had envisioned herself, but she had begun to think they might need one of the skimmers to escape. She doubted the Zeltrons would get mixed up in this problem and that meant they needed a way out that was unpredictable to her enemies.

She could not see his face in the darkness, but she knew he was mulling over the idea. He would not like leaving her alone to fight, but he saw the wisdom in taking one of the transports. He was about to suggest she steal one and get off the island herself, but she cut him off.

 _You know I am not going to do that, she said. Even you cannot survive against twenty or thirty men. Don't waste my time being gallant._ Now she could sense his amusement. He _had_ been serious, no matter what he would claim, but he had also know it was a pointless suggestion.

 _I will reveal myself to them, slowly, so that they come hunting for me, she said. Take out the pilots and let me know. I will try to disappear again until you can come on them from behind._

 _Just make sure you wait for me, love, he said. No noble sacrifice on your part either._

 _I am a Sith; I am not noble, she said._

 _No, today you are Julienne Qa-Norm, my wife, and we will get through this together, he said._

He was such a sentimental sap sometimes that she wanted to punch him, but then he sent her such a sending of love and confidence that she had to squeeze her eyes shut on the tears. Her whole body flashed warm and she gasped. In a moment she stood and crossed the gap to him to crush him in a hug and kiss him soundly. Then she pushed him away.

 _Go get us a skimmer, fool, she said._

 _Love you, too, Juju,_ he replied as he ran off in the dark.

What an idiot, she mused after he had left.

 _I heard that, you unfeeling jerk, he shot back._

Now it was her turn to shake her head. Oh, Shemric… She had to shake herself out of this odd feeling of protectiveness. Get ahold of yourself woman. Enemies are knocking at the door. She sat and meditated for a time and that deeper connection to the Force helped her sense the progress of their enemies as they approached the island at different angles. She knew that Shem had already veered off in the direction of the closest likely landing spot so it was time for her to find a place to receive the others.

As she walked in the dark, she considered this man to whom she had attached herself. He really would have lured these attackers in and sacrificed himself so that she could escape. She had never really considered that she might do the same. First of all, she knew she needed him alive and well to survive today and accomplish something in the future. Secondly, she doubted very much that he would deal very well with her death. Oh, he might go on, but he would be adrift in a galaxy where he was no longer a pure Jedi follower but did not have a backup plan if he left the Order. Finally, unlike him, she would _not_ go on without him. In all of her visions, that was an unchangeable outcome. His death would mean a pointless spiral into depression and self-destruction. She knew it and hated him for it sometimes; that he had made her into a dependent creature. But hating him changed nothing for her, so she pretended and deceived him and hoped that through him she might survive and learn to live again. That hope buoyed her against the things she had to do.

She stopped in deepest shadows of the palm forest and opened herself further to the Living Force. They would sense her strength and come for her now. She reached out and tried to get a feel for them in return. To her surprise, they were all Force-users. Some were not particularly strong, but one easily outmatched either Shemric or herself. Something odd was going on here and she felt like a playing piece on a board. She now rated their chances of survival very low and she nearly called out to Shemric to take the shuttle and go. Knowing he would ignore her made it a futile gesture. Well, let them come, then, she thought. She was not sure what she and Shemric had become in their joining, but it was nothing like any Sith or Jedi had ever been. Perhaps they would triumph again.

Deep in meditation, there was no worry or fear or much any emotion, but she did note in the back of her mind that Shemric should have reported back by now. Her attackers were closing in and she was running out of time. She reduced her Force-signature further and moved some fifty meters away. The problem with hiding in the Force was that it made you blind as well, so she had to rely on sound to know when they had closed on her position. She stood motionless until she heard three or four warriors walking towards her only a few meters away. There would be no more hiding.

 _Shemric, come now, if you can! she sent_ and leaped into the midst of what she knew was four fighters. They cried out in surprise as their awareness of her in the Force burst full strength and she dispatch two of them quickly with her saber. The closer of the survivors rushed her and she threw him against a tree and then spun to attack the other violently. His movements seemed slow and ponderous compared to weeks of fighting Shem and he went down after only a handful of attacks.

The impact with the tree had not killed the other Sith and he tried to blast her with lightning, but she took it on her blade and rushed him. She could see his wide eyes in the eerie light of their sabers and felt a moment of pity as she took off his arm and then slashed him fatally across the chest. He was young and scared and unprepared for this demon that he had thought would be easy prey. She did not hesitate, though and soon it was silent in her immediate vicinity. She felt most of the others rushing her position now. She would wait for them, but not here.

Julienne disappeared in the Force again and walked steadily away from where she had first encountered the other Sith. Again, the wisdom of their training paid off as she relied on her physical senses to make a path through the forest. As she drew tighter and tighter into herself, she sensed the others hesitate and slow their advance. They had to be aware of each other, because they spread out in two arcs on both sides of her. It was very hard to tell locations when she was hiding in the Force, so she found the darkest shadow in the area and crouched, weapon in hand.

Based off the racket they were making, she thought there were more fighters downslope than up, perhaps twice as many. For that reason, she turned and moved carefully upslope until she heard the others approaching. She held so still that they actually began to pass her before she lashed out to take one completely by surprise. The second went down quickly as well and the others rushed her. They did a fairly good job of centering her and she could do nothing but defend. Her Sorensu had become nearly impeccable, but she knew the larger group would reach them soon and then she would be done. In the midst of the fight she nearly called out to Shem, but he was suddenly there, a blue blade emerging from the Sith's chest she had been fighting and a moment later a blue streak whizzed by her ear and another man cried out. The third tried to run when confronted by two enemies but Julienne added to his momentum and shoved him hard into a large tree. He hit with a sickening thud and did not move.

 _Let them come to you!_ sent Shem quickly and then he disappeared in the Force and went crashing off into the bush again. A few moments later all sound in his direction stopped.

The other marauders came on cautiously, sabers off, and with full Force sensitivity, she counted that there were twelve. The strongest among them led and eventually stopped within speaking distance.

"It seems you have managed to become dangerous, Julienne Qa," came the voice and Julienne knew the source. They had sent a full Sith Lord to make sure she did not leave the island. Darth Anguish was not a council member, but she had seen him meet with her master on several occasions. That he was here made her suspicious that her own master was trying to eliminate an enemy using her surrogate once again. Well, it hardly mattered why they needed to kill him. It was survival now.

"So where is your pet _Jedi_?" asked the Sith Lord. "I sensed him earlier, but not now. Was he killed then?"

"Yes, and you will pay for it," she said. Perhaps the bluff would work. She did not have to feign anger. Her master was playing the game again with Julienne as the piece.

"I am afraid you have forgotten your numbers, apprentice," said Anguish. "Your body will be feeding the worms soon."

"That is what Malgus said to us before he died," said Julienne. Perhaps that thought would make him hesitate. It didn't.

"You didn't kill Malgus," said Anguish. "He might have been an old battle axe, but he was an axe. He would have snuffed you in a moment."

Julienne smiled but it was not for anyone but herself. This man was overconfident. Shemric was out there and they would grind these fools to powder between them. She leaped violently and brought her red saber down in a bold overhand stroke. She had grown used to the kinetic energy it had thanks to Shemric's clever design and she could see the shock on the other Sith's face as his very nonchalant block was beaten back into his face and there was a smell of burning. He backed up and cried out but she was on him quickly. His warriors rushed to his aid and he withdrew among them to escape her attack.

Julienne used no form she had ever been taught at the Sith Academy but push all her focus into Shemric's anger-driven method of all-out attack. Sith warriors died on her blade and she carved on into their midst. Shock and surprise kept her moving forward for a few moments until numbers pushed her back and she retreated into Sorensu and serenity. Shem would come.

On cue, Shemric burst into their midst, wielding his Force-pike and hurling his home-made Force-javelins. The Marauders went down like mowed stalks in a field until a tremendous Force-enhanced blast knocked everyone off their feet. Of the rest, only Julienne and Shemric regained their feet on one side and Darth Anguish and two remaining Marauders on the other.

The Marauders each attacked one of their remaining opponents while Anguish threw objects and lightning when he had openings. Julienne's opponent was quite skilled but she knew she would have dispatched him in moments had she not been worrying about the attacks from Anguish. As it was, they fought to a standoff until Anguish cried out and fell backwards to the ground for no reason that Julienne could see.

Whatever the reason, she used the opening to attack her opponent viciously and drive him back. At the last, the man stumbled on some unseen obstacle and Julienne finished him.

 _Bad luck for you, fellow_ , she thought as she turned to see Shemric circling Anguish, who was back on his feet. He seemed quite calm.

 _I like our chances of surviving much better now, said Shemric._

 _Indeed, she agreed._ He offered his consciousness to her and they meshed and interwove until she could sense his movements like they were her own.

 _Do you want to question him? asked Shem._

"I think you have made your point, Julienne Qa," said the Sith Lord. "Now for your own good you should cease."

"There is no good ending in this for you, Darth Anguish," said Julienne. "Either we kill you, we incapacitate you, or you surrender."

"You think those are my only options?" he said laughing, but Julienne could tell it was forced. He was wounded somehow and trying to get them to back down.

"We will allow you to leave, but you will disappear into the Empire and not return to Dromund Kaas," she said.

"And why would I do that?" he said and then unleashed a tremendous blast of lightning in multiple directions.

Julienne leaped violently upward and only the fringes of the electricity caught her foot, but it turned her leap into a wild freefall such that she could not control her descent. Of a wonder, she crashed into a large bush that cushioned her impact somewhat, but darkness took her a moment later.


	22. Chapter 22

Waking on the island had most often been a pleasant, lazy experience but consciousness this time brought her only feelings of pain and exhaustion and soreness. She guessed she was in the pirated skimmer, but she was strapped down so that she would not move. She reached out to Shemric, but sharp pain greeted her attempt and she cried out in surprise. Shemric appeared a moment later and began unfastening the straps.

"I am guessing my head is broken," she said.

"Something like that," he said.

"And that is not something you can heal?" she asked.

"I would rather not make a mistake in that area," he said.

"What if I asked you to try?" she said and then groaned again as she involuntarily tried to reach out and speak to his mind.

"I would say no unless it was an emergency," he replied. "We have not yet arrived at an emergency."

Julienne nodded and lay back. She felt terrible.

"I took care of some of your lesser stuff, like the burns and scrapes and the sprained wrist, but I think you have a broken ribs and cranial damage," he said.

"What did I miss?" she asked.

"Well, we won and escaped, obviously," he said. "Not how I would have liked our last day on the island to go. I had rather more intimate plans than fighting for our lives."

"Sorry; we should not have waited so long," she said.

"I know, but … well, it was another week with you," he said. "I can't say I regret it. As long as your brain heals."

"What about Anguish?" she asked.

"The Sith Lord?" he asked and she nodded. "I fried him with his own lightning, much like I did Malgus. The other skimmer pilots beat a hasty retreat when I warned them to leave and we have been traveling for about four hours now. I am glad to see that you woke on your own. I was a little worried."

She reached over and took his hand in a very un-Julienne-like gesture. "It is time for us to part again."

He frowned and looked away. When he met her eyes again they were full of moisture. "I know. I do not ever like it, but you are right."

"I am going to become a Sith Lord," she said.

"You have worked toward that goal for a long time; I am sure you deserve it," he said.

She blinked. That was not at all the response she expected. "Last time we had to be mad at each other to force ourselves apart. I do not want to do that again."

"Nor I," he said. He sniffled a bit and then smiled at her. It was sort of lopsided like he did not really mean it. "You will find me again when you need me."

"Do you wonder why you never come looking for me?" she asked quietly.

"No," he said quickly. "I am your tool, not me yours," he said. He only sounded a little bitter when he said it.

Maybe the pain in her head was making her crazy, but she started crying at the expression on his face. "I am sorry it has to be that way, Shemric."

He shook his head and looked away. Seeing her crying must have unnerved him. He probably thought it was like seeing rain come from a rock. "I will not doubt you again, Julienne. If you say that you are working for our future then I will wait and try to be patient. We seem to keep surviving events where we most likely should have died. We have something to do. I just wish I knew what it was."

It took two days before they were able to find a doctor to look at Julienne's head. He confirmed she had a fractured skull and said that the pressure on her brain was causing the headaches. He was not a Zeltron. His blue skin and features were not any that Julienne recognized, but he seemed competent. He operated on Julienne within the hour and she went under to a concerned look on Shemric's face. Shemric pronounced the operation a success when she woke hours later and she immediately reached out to him. The pain was gone and she spoke to his mind.

 _And here we are yet again, she said. You getting me into trouble and you saving me._ He smirked at her, but said nothing. _And strangely enough, it does not hurt to breathe._

 _I have been doing a little here and there, he admitted. I think, when I return to the temple, that I am going to give healing some serious study. I have been dabbling at it for too long._

 _And how will that go, your return to the temple, she asked?_

 _Well, they sort of expect this behavior from me, he said. Nobody really wants me around. That was why they sent me to Coruscant. And will you head back to your capital?_

 _Darth Acina will be expecting me, she said._

 _I packed all your spooky black hoods and cloaks so you will be properly attired when you arrive, he said._

She smiled at him. He looked so forlorn and lost already. _Are you going to be all right?_

 _No, he said. But we both will survive, until the next time._

 _Yes, she agreed. Until the next time._

They parted at an out of the way spaceport, him in regular clothes and her in black Sith robes. They had traveled there directly from the hospital where she had been recovering. She had feared that he might want to spend a last night alone together and had been surprised when he had not suggested it. Maybe he knew that would only make the parting that much more difficult. They walked side by side, not touching, down the concourse to their respective shuttles. It was impossible not to sense the feeling of grief and loss seeping through so she closed herself off to him and walked in silence. He knew what she was doing and did not comment.

Her shuttle left first and it reminded her a bit of the first time they had parted on Bonadan. Only, this time there would be no playful kisses. He did not even make a move to touch her. Finally, he blew out a breath and met her eyes.

 _Thanks for coming for me, he said. We beat the odds again._ He seemed to be clenching his jaw so hard that she doubted he could have spoken aloud. Every so often his face spasmed in a frown and then appeared calm. _Be well, Julienne Qa. I will miss you._ He nodded then and swept past her all in a rush.

She nearly reached out a hand to him. She nearly called to him several times. But she did not. Instead, she pulled all her feelings for him deep inside and put them in a box. It was the only thing she could do to protect him. Their connection dwindled down to a small stream and she could sense his utter heartache take hold as it wound down to a trickle and then winked out. She gasped at the finality of it. She could not breathe. She had to be alone.

Julienne stormed toward her shuttle and demanded a private cabin for a few minutes. The terrified attendant stumbled, trying to accommodate her as quickly as possible. When the door closed behind her, Julienne folded up and lay on the small cushioned bench and began to sob. It was not something she had done since the day she had been ripped from her home and everything she knew. She had not thought she would ever feel that way again, but her connection to Shemric was severed and her emotions felt like she had lost a limb. Oh, she could still sense his presence out there somewhere, but she could feel none of the affection, the humor, the unbending loyalty or the unrestrained love he gave to her. She was empty inside and all the sobbing in the world could not change that.

When Julienne Qa, Sith apprentice, emerged from the small cabin over an hour later, she was again herself; independent, willful, quick-thinking and dangerous. All vestiges of Shemric Norm were scoured from her heart. She would do what she must to survive or she would never see him again.

End Part 2


	23. Chapter 23

**3646 –Tython—Jedi Temple**

 _"_ Welcome, Shemric, I sensed that you had news of import for me and had them send you in," said Grand Master Shan warmly. "Try not to mind my staff. They think to guard my time from distractions."

"Thank you, Grand Master Shan, I did not expect you to see me so quickly," said Shemric.

"And do you think you have news that I might find intriguing?" she asked.

"Well, yes," he admitted.

She gestured to the simple chair that sat opposite her desk in what was ostensibly her office in the new temple. She took a chair opposite him, not behind her desk. The Grand Master was an attractive woman despite her years and had the look of one who had seen and done much and was surprised by little.

"Well, then, let me begin from Coruscant, I suppose," he began. "The Sith, Julienne, contacted me there, much to my surprise and …"

"Pardon me for interrupting, Shemric but you need not dissemble with me," she said. "You are very bad at it and I can sense when you do it half the time. Plus, with me, there is no real purpose. You need not fear condemnation. Sooo, how exactly did she contact you? It had been more than a year—nearly two, I would guess-since you parted on Balmorra."

"Yes, Grand Master," he said. "She did not contact me so much as, appear, I guess. I can sense when she is not far away."

"And that is very interesting, is it not?" asked the Grand Master. "I have not heard of Jedi being able to do that very often. Do you suppose it is a result of long contact and intimate relations?" She said it so matter-of-factly that he was taken aback. He had not known that had been so obvious when he had reported to her the first time.

"It could be," he admitted. "Certainly, it strengthened over time as we worked together and … continued … intimate relations." He looked away and continued his story. "She came to recruit me to help in a venture to which she had been assigned by her master."

"Do you know the name of her master?" asked Shan

"Sith Lord Acina, ma'am," he said. "She took Julienne on after the original business on Taris. Have you heard of her?"

"I have, though not a great deal," said Shan. "I have heard she is one of many who aspire to the Dark Council."

"Yes, ma'am, well, apparently after the Treaty of Coruscant, Sith Lord Darth Malgus," he saw Shan stir at the name. She had fought him on Alderaan and been largely responsible for him needing the breathing apparatus. "…was less than satisfied with the conclusion of the war. He wanted to see the Republic burn. That put him at odds with the Emperor and most of the Dark Council. He went off on his own with those who agreed and began to wreak havoc in the Unknown Regions. There are plenty of backwards worlds there with little protection.

"Julienne found me on Coruscant in large part because she was bored of her task that had been given her by Darth Acina, which was to smuggle arms into a world called Belkadan in the Dalonbian Sector. She was making runs from Ruuria in a converted freighter and meeting up with resistance fighters from the planet. Much of that area is unmapped and it took five jumps and two weeks each way. After her third run, she came looking for me."

"And she can find you in much the same way you can find her?" asked Shan. "I thought you mentioned you only noticed it when she was close."

"Well, you always have a sort of general sense of where the other is, but most of the time you do not think about it, but it just becomes more obvious when we are close together," he tried to explain. "If I concentrate on a direction then I can get a general sense of where she is and then I suppose you could just keep jumping closer until I found the right planet. In my case, I had been on Coruscant for more than a year." She nodded as if to say 'go on' so he continued the narrative through their multiple runs and finally the confrontation on Ord Janon. She did not interrupt him again until he described the manner of Darth Malgus' death.

"And you used his own power against him, you say?" she asked. "How interesting that the tool of his demise was his own lightning. So often the Dark Side devours its own followers. Not that you need to be told this, but your use of lightning will bother a lot of Jedi. They believe it is solely a Dark Side manifestation. It sounds to me that you rarely use it except when you turn it back on others."

He shrugged. He knew not to mention it to anyone. He was not going to mention any of his adventure to anyone else if he could help it.

"Ma'am, what do you envision you might have me do now?" he asked. He knew he had skipped the month on Zeltron, but he really did not want to talk about it much. She watched him for a time and he wondered if she was deciding to question him on the omission. As usual, she surprised him with the question he did not want to answer.

"So, your relationship with the Sith, Julienne, sounds like it was more close than ever," she said. "I expect she will return to her master now that she completed the mission. Do you think you could find her again?"

Shemric was thinking furiously, wondering if she was asking him to lead her to the Sith capital world. He was not sure that was her intent, but he could not say that he knew her well enough to guess. She alleviated his fears quickly.

"I do not mean you to lead us or … anyone there, but I was curious if your link made that a possibility," she said.

"I think I could, yes," he said. "Were she to allow it, I could probably point out a general area on a star map."

"Dromund Kaas, I think it is called," said Shan. "How could she not allow it?"

"While we were together, we worked very hard at hiding from each other, and by extension, other Force users, by reducing our Force signature," he explained. "Her psionic abilities are much stronger than mine, so she is much better at it than me. She could hide from me, but not me from her. When we parted, I felt the thread of our connection thin and finally disappear for the most part. In deep meditation I might be able to find her, but of that I am not even sure."

"Well, it is something to know," she said. "You asked what I imagine you will be doing and in fact, I have given it some thought. I think it is time you spent some time with Jedi Master Slocum learning healing." Shemric blinked, surprised. "Why are you surprised?"

"I had been thinking along those lines as well, but I have not really shown any great aptitude for it so as to take the time of an accomplished master," he said.

"Let us not say you have not shown aptitude," she said, smiling. "You have not really shown any interest, beyond some basic battlefield first aid. When given the preference, you always chose more … martial pursuits. I have mentioned your name to Master Slocum and he has said that you are more than welcome as you were always a very apt pupil.

It should not have surprised Shemric that there were those who had taken an interest in him and kept track of his skills over the years. He bowed his head and nodded. "Ma'am, I shall do my best."

"Also, I have told Battlemaster Bariim that you will make yourself available to her in the afternoons," she said.

Again, the Grand Master took him by surprise. "I did not know there that she had been appointed Battlemaster," said Shemric.

"I felt the time was past due; Master Bariim has never been our best warrior given her limitations, but I have always felt she was an excellent teacher," said Shan. "When I mentioned your name to her, she welcomed the opportunity to work with you. I think her exact reaction was a very large smile before saying, 'Well, with Shemric at my disposal, I suspect I can hammer home a few points to my students that are personally unavailable to me.' She already has ideas about you, apparently."

"I … do not really know what to say to that, Grand Master," said Shemric. He had always respected Master Bariim but it had been a long time since she had been able to press him hard in lightsaber sparring.

Grand Master Shan gave him one of those warm smiles and even chuckled a bit. "Oh, Shemric, part of the reason I have helped you over the years is your completely self-effacing manner. You have no idea how truly amazing you are and so it makes you extremely likeable. Other than a few you have met who disliked your parents, I rarely find anyone who has a bad thing to say about you and most are quite effusive in their praise of you. Were you a little less unorthodox in your … associations, I am sure you would have been made a master by now and have a seat on the council." She only chuckled when he shook his head. He had said much the same thing to Julienne not long ago, but had not been sure it was true. "Get along now, Shemric. Master Slocum will be happy to see you at any time." He stood and bowed and thanked her again for everything.

"You have never given me any reason to do other than I have," said Master Shan. "If you do not mind that some regard you has my 'pet Jedi' then I do not mind putting in a good word for you."

Shemric nodded. He had sensed some resentment from some at her championing of his cause so often and especially of her dismissing his … irregularities, but no one had said it outright. He could live with that.

He did not know the new headquarters well and had not ever been to the area where they taught healing, so it took him a while to find his way to Master Slocum. The man was probably the oldest Jedi that Shemric had met though he had no idea the Master's actual age. He was completely bald and pale human but his eyes were always kind and he seemed to have endless patience with his students. He gave Shemric a kindly smile as Shemric entered the room where he was teaching four other students.

"So tell me, what is the balance you must always walk when doing healing?" said Master Slocum.

"A Force-healer must always pay attention to how much of the energy of healing comes from the healer, how much from the Force itself and how much comes from the person being healed." The speaker was a Togruta female that Shemric had never met.

"Exactly right," said Master Slocum. "Let us ask our new student if he can identify what is wrong with our subject today. Let us welcome, Shemric Norm, who will be joining us more often, I hope."

The others turned to him and he did not recognize any of them. The Togruta studied him for very long and looked him up and down as if she was making some decision. Shemric studied her in return. Unlike most Togruta, her facial markings were so near the color of her skin as to be nearly invisible. In fact, she was about the palest colored Togruta he had ever seen. Shemric jerked his eyes away and approached the table where the 'subject', an Ithorian youngling, lay on the table with eyes closed. Shemric wondered if the sick became example subjects for the day before they were healed. "May I touch?" he asked. He was not even sure of the gender, in truth; he had met very few Ithorians.

"Of course," said Master Slocum.

Shemric touched the youngling's slim arm and his awareness of—her, he knew that immediately and had no idea why—her became much stronger. He sank into a simple exploratory healing trance and searched for the problem. After a few more moments he removed his hand and stood back. "I think she has a sore throat."

"Very good, Shemric, so what would you do it about it?" asked the master.

Shemric thought on what he had sensed for a time and then replied. "I am not sure. I sensed discomfort, but it seemed more like growing pains than it did a sickness."

Master Slocum nodded again and stepped forward to lay his hand on the youngling's neck and then stepped away a few moments later. The Ithorian came away and then sat up; Shemric was no expert, but he thought its facial expression was much more relaxed. She blinked a few times and then spoke to Master Slocum. "Thank you, Master," she said. "The … sensation did not go away, but I am much more comfortable now."  
"You may go, Lasma," said the master.

The youngling left and Master Slocum adjourned the class and asked Shemric to stay. Orosan's face flashed a troubled expression momentarily and then she was smooth-faced again. She bid the master farewell and Shemric was left with Slocum.

"Satele mentioned to me that you had returned and suggested you might come to me," he began. "I must admit that I have often wished you had returned after our basic instruction for more study. You always showed a talent for it. That, you had from your mother, I think." Shemric said nothing. Mention of his parents was always awkward, but Master Slocum did not appear at all discomfited. "Can I ask why you have decided to come?"

"I respect the Grand Master too much to not take her advice," he said. "She recommended this, and frankly, had already given it some thought."

"I see," he said. He looked pleased. Master Slocum always seemed to be so self-contented that he no longer experienced disappointment or anger. "Well, if you are willing then I would love to have you. I think I will pair you with Orosan Zash. I think she will learn better if she has someone with whom to … compete. She is much like you in that way."

"Yes, Master," he acknowledged. "When would you like me to come?"

"Satele left me to understand that your mornings would be available," he said and when Shemric nodded, he went on; "so I will look for you here at sick call at the seventh hour. That is when I make the rounds and try and do my best hands-on teaching."

"Very well, master, I will be here then," said Shemric. Seventh hour was early to start classes, but if he was to go to the battlemaster in the afternoons, he supposed that he would not need to exercise first thing. He bowed and left and began walking towards what he hoped was the smell of lunch. One corridor down he turned a corner and found the Togruta leaning against a wall, as if she were waiting for him. She met his eyes and again regarded him for a few moments.

"So, you are the Grand Master's golden child," she said. Her voice did not hold any derision; she just stated it as if it were a fact.

"I supposed if one were inclined to apply broad labels to things, that might be accurate," he said with a smile. He had no argument with her.

"They say you are about as good as a Jedi can be with a lightsaber," she said. Again, no there was no judgment in her tone. "And fairly mysterious besides." She watched him to see if he would react. When he did not she looked slightly disappointed. "Let me guess; Master Slocum is going to begin giving you private lessons during sick call?"

"Actually, he paired me up with his own 'golden child'," said Shemric. "Someone named Orosan Zash; do you know her?" Shem strongly suspected he was already speaking to her.

Her eyes widened slightly before she deliberately assumed a neutral expression again. "Really? So you show up out of the blue and I get to partner with you after I have been studying with Master Slocum for a year?"

"So it would seem," he said and stood and looked at her with his best direct gaze that said he was tired of the questions. It was not meant to be intimidating, but she immediately shifted to a more aggressive posture with her feet planted shoulder width apart and her arms crossed beneath her breasts. Shemric pulled back his Force-projected intimidation sensation that he had learned from Julienne and just smiled. "I suspect we are going to have a great time together Orosan."

She gave him a dark look and then broke into a smile. She was really quite pretty.

"Shall we have some lunch together then, Shemric," she offered. "We may as well get to know each other if we are going to be paired. Master Slocum has no patience for contention between his students."

"After you," he said making a slight bow.

"Is that because you do not know where the chow hall is located or you want to stare at my bottom?" she asked.

He snorted loudly and decided only directness was going to work with this one. "Well, the first is quite correct but I suspect the second might not be a waste of time."

Her eyes widened slightly when he admitted to both her accusations and then laughed. "We might get along at that, Shemric," she said. "Well then, follow along and enjoy." She spun on her heeled boot and walked off with what Shemric suspected was more than a bit of extra sway in her stride; she did have an attractive bottom.

After lunch, Shemric went back to his room and rested in what was part nap and part meditation. It was a combination of healing and real sleep combined to rejuvenate the body and freshen the mind. He knew that Master Bariim would have had hours to cook up some lesson or other and he had better be ready for it. He finally reported the third hour after noon when he was sure the better part of his lunch had digested.

The training space was a great open area at the summit of one of the ancient stone buildings the Jedi had re-inhabited when they had come back to Tython. There were groups of Jedi, from younglings to masters, practicing various forms of saber combat spread out over the large space of the hard-packed dirt surface. He wandered among his fellow Jedi and felt an odd loneliness and suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of loss from his connection to Julienne. He nearly reached out to her then, but stopped. Such an effort would be exhausting, pointless and possibly dangerous to her. _Stop whining and get on with your business._

The voice in his mind was so like her that he had to wipe a tear out of his eye and snuffle a bit before he could go on. He finally found Master Bariim standing on a large stool overlooking two students who looked quite skilled based off the mock battle they were waging. The Zabrak female was pressing the human back but he seemed very relaxed and unworried. The clash went on for several more minutes before the Zabrak lashed out and scored a fight-ending strike on her opponent. The young man looked very irritated that he had been defeated, but still bowed graciously.

Master Bariim turned to him and scowled. "It is about time, Shemric. I have plenty for you to do. You kept me waiting long enough."

"I did not want to throw up on your training floor after lunch, Battlemaster Bariim," he said.

She harrumphed at him and leaped down from her perch to approach him. Master Bariim was a Jawa from the planet Tatooine and as such, stood no more than a meter off the ground. Most of her kind wore robes that covered their faces from the bright light of the double suns of her world, but she was clad in simple Jedi robes that made one think of a youngling on first glance. Her large, goggled eyes stared at him as if examining a tool she intended to use and wanted to think of various ways she would do so.

"Josh, Sakrogi, here please!" she said in a shrill voice that made Shemric jump.

The two Jedi approached quickly. She did not bother to introduce him. "Josh, you remain too passive; Sakrogi, too aggressive. My new assistant here is going to help both of you overcome that. Josh, you first." In a voice pitched for his ears only, she said, "Shemric, just give him a bit of Sorensu and make him try and come to you." Shemric nodded and entered the area where the two had been sparring. Sakrogi stepped off to the side and watch Shemric with a curious light in his eyes. Master Bariim spoke to Josh. "Josh, I wish you to try and score a hit on Shemic. You can attack in Ataru, Makashi or Djem So as you choose.

Josh regarded her skeptically and ignited his saber. Shemric lit his own and stood unmoving. Bariim wanted the boy to come to him so he would wait. He leapt at Shem and was met calmly with the barest of movements. He was not particularly aggressive as Bariim had pointed out. Soon he was breathing hard from his efforts while Shemric stood on his original spot, having barely moved except to pivot slightly to keep the man centered. Eventually, he tired and Bariim called a halt.

"Shemric, tell me from whence Josh's problem arises."

"Your grasp of Sorensu is very good, from what I saw," he said. "However, if you have to end a fight, at some point you have to extend yourself somewhat. Now, sometimes you may not need to do so, but if there is a rush…" he shrugged. "You are going to need Ataru or Makashi, maybe Djem So."

"Very well," said Bariim. Josh did not look best pleased but he stepped to the side and smirked at Sakrogi.

"Give her a nice taste of Makashi, will you now, Shemric," said Bariim. "Her Ataru is aggressive but not overly powerful yet." In a louder voice she called, "Sakrogi, you will employ Sorensu to defend against his attack." The Padawan frowned but took up the correct stance.

Shemric nodded. He was more than a match for the young woman and was able to disarm her several times. It was clear the young woman was still learning and she did not like Sorensu, it appeared. When he had disarmed Sakrogi for the third time, Bariim called for them to stop.

The chagrined Jedi bowed without grace and had a tight expression on her face. She looked like she wanted to speak and so Bariim cleared her throat and asked if she had something to say.

"What was the point of him showing us up with our weakest forms?" asked Sakrogi. Josh seemed to have been thinking the same thing because he nodded.

"You see, these younglings, they are so easily manipulated," said Bariim under her breath as Shemric stood next to her.

"What will you do, do you suppose, if you come up against a saber user who was stronger than you at your chosen discipline? Do you just concede?" She gave both of her students a penetrating look that was amplified by her large goggles. "Do you think I had him test you with _his_ strength?" Now both of the students worked hard to control their faces. Shemric nearly sighed. Either they thought she was boasting on his behalf or they thought she was making a joke. Shemric knew he had been that young once, but it seemed a long time ago instead of just a few years.

Bariim was smiling when she returned and hopped up on her tall stool. "Now is the time when I need you to drive my lesson home, dear Shemric," she said in a low voice, for his ears only. "Go and give Sakrogi a bit of an eye-opener when she comes at you. Embarrass her please."

"You have not seen me fight in years, master; you seem rather confident in what I can do," he said.

"I watched video of Malgus' attack on the temple," she whispered quietly. "Anyone who can defeat him can eat these two for breakfast without belching."

Shemric's bark of laughter made the battlemaster jump.

"Why was that so funny?" she asked.

"It is something a friend used to say," he replied. He was more than happy to have positive memories of Julienne surface. "I had help, you know," he said. "You do not know the whole story."

"I had it from the Grand Master," said Bariim. "Have you told anyone else?"

"I have not," he admitted.

She shrugged and he scowled and turned back the two students. Bariim called out Sakrogi and told her she could attack as she chose. The Zabrak smiled and came at Shemric aggressively, leaping about like the namesake Hawk-bat that was representative of Ataru. Shemric met her with Sorensu and stood unmoving while the youngster flailed away, leaped about and spent a great deal of Force energy. When she became a little sloppy Shemric turned his effortless blocks into power-backed attacks that knocked the youth back until she was physically knocked off her feet to her back. Shemric kicked the saber out of her hand and ended a swiping strike just short of his neck.

"You surprised me," she spit.

"Do not be surprised then," said Shemric and brought Sakrogi's saber to his hand. He handed it back. "Again?" Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she came at Shemric with a little more respect this time, but the second fight ended more quickly than the first as Shemric pounded her with Force-backed counterstrikes that rocked the youngster. After the third match ended in less than ten seconds, Bariim called out and summoned Sakrogi to her side. She was red-faced and angry but she kept her tongue. When she saw Josh square off with Shemric, she smiled, likely hoping he would receive the same beat down.

Josh's Sorensu was very good but by now Shemric had focused a little anger of his own and he went at him fueled by his own frustration at being used, at being separated from Julienne and just his own internal desire that finally, someone would recognize that he was very, very good. If Sakrogi had appeared surprised, then Josh looked half-terrified as Shem showered him with a dizzying array of attacks that drove him back, cut off his retreats and landed strike after strike until he had 'died' half a dozen times. When Shemric finally stood back, the area around their training space was full of spectators. Only Master Bariim was smiling.

And then she launched herself off the stool straight at him, her green lightsaber streaking towards his head. Now it was Shemric's turn to be caught off guard as he stumbled back, blocking desperately to keep the whirling green cyclone back from him. When she tried to blast him back with the Force he nearly reacted by absorbing it, but instead jumped straight up in the air to avoid the concussive force. She met him in mid-air as he came back down and it was a ridiculous exercise in fly swatting. Master Bariim's strength was her blinding speed and it was nearly impossible to do anything except defend.

Instead, he used the gather Force energy of his landing to blast her back. He really had absorbed some of the energy he had used in the initial leap and the force of it caught her mid-leap and sent her flying across the arena. He cried out in surprise, but he need not have worried; she righted herself and managed, somehow, to alight back on her observation stool as if she had planned it. A spontaneous cheer and clapping broke out as if they had just observed a command performance.

Bariim used a Force technique to project her voice as Shemric walked across the training ground towards her. She bowed to him and said, "Well, my students, I would like to introduce Master Shemric Norm, by new assistant battlemaster, if you do not know him already."

Shemric nearly gaped. "I am never been declared a master; what are you saying?"

Bariim looked amused. "No? Well, an oversight then. I doubt anyone here is going to argue with you." She looked about at all the gawkers. "Back to work!" she said, clapping her hands. Students scuttled to comply and that left Shemric standing there with Josh and Sakrogi. "Do either of you have anything to say?"

Josh stepped forward and bowed. "I meant no disrespect, Master Norm. I look forward to learning from you." Sakrogi gave him a look of pure venom that Nofa could not see as she bowed. They were dismissed and Master Bariim leaped up to land lightly on Shemric's shoulder.

"Walk about; I wish to observe," she said.

Shemric only chuckled that he went from master to sitting post in less than ten seconds.

"You are very good, Shemric," said Bariim. "I am so glad to have you here."

"So now I am bad cop?" he asked. She looked taken aback for a moment before laughing.

"Exactly!" she said with delight. "Good cop," she patted her breast, "bad cop," and she tussled his hair. "We need to talk about what you just used against Sakrogi. I do not believe that is like any form I have ever seen. In fact, it looked like it was nothing but all-out attack, perhaps fueled by a bit of anger."

"More or less, Master," he said. "I used it often enough on a friend when she made me angry and she insisted I learn to channel it and use it at will. She was very persuasive."

"I see," she said. "Well, first of all, you need to call me Nofa when others cannot hear. From one master to another, I do not need the honorific. And second, you may have just invented your own lightsaber form using anger and aggression to fuel your attacks."

"And that does not bother you?" he asked.

"I think it is brilliant," she said. "It drove my point home better than anything I could have thought up."

"I have never even been tested," he complained.

"Well, as for that, when you are here in my space, you shall be Master Norm to me and all my students," she said. "If other masters wish to complain then they are welcome to come and test you themselves. I have done so and found you more than up to the standard."

They walked along quietly for a few minutes before it occurred to Shemric that she was manipulating him just like her students. "You made that declaration _for the purpose_ of luring the masters here to test me!"

She patted him on the back of the head but would admit to nothing; he thought her smile was all the confirmation he needed. The coming days would certainly confirm his suspicion as no less than three masters came to challenge the battlemaster's assertion and therefore challenge Shemric himself. When all three of them were unable to defeat him and in fact, were all three defeated most soundly, they all reacted quite differently. He had not known any of them, so he had not known what to expect. Two had left somewhat disgruntled, neither formally acknowledging Master Bariim's bestowed titled nor claiming he did not deserve it. The last though, and the oldest and most skilled, laughed loudly and offered his hand and his congratulations to Shemric after he had lost his third bout in a row.

"You may call me Chush," he replied. He was a tough skinned Nikto and quite adept at Djem So himself. His smile changed the normally somber face. "I think I shall have to come in and spar a bit more, friend Shemric. I rather enjoyed that." He bowed to the battlemaster. "I have no disputes with your naming him master, though that is not normally the way it is done. Good day to both of you."

"Well, that went well," said Nofa after he had left. "Two enemies and one friend is not a bad exchange. The others were not particularly gracious, now were they?"

He shook his head, but it was starting to dawn on him that Nofa really was going to see to it that he was named a master. He felt more pleased at the prospect than he had thought he would be.


	24. Chapter 24

Tython

His lessons with Master Slocum were also progressing very well at about the same rate as his relationship with Orosan was becoming troubling. In the beginning she was very quick to point out his inadequacies and try to show him up. He did his best to be humble about it and learn from her, as he supposed their master had intended. Shemric began to learn how to heal simple things more efficiently, but also more serious things than he would have attempted before his new training.

Tython was a largely uninhabited planet, but Shemric learned that there was an illegal Twi'lek settlement that was not far from the where the new Jedi headquarters had been built. Apparently during the planet's long abandonment, the only thing that had survived were primitive, violent Flesh Raiders that preyed on the Twi'lek settlement after it was discovered. The Jedi had refused to intervene, but Master Slocum did accept their wounded to be healed if they survived long enough to be brought to him.

It bothered Shemric that they used them almost like experimental animals, but Master Slocum said that it was the most they were allowed to do because of the illegality of the Twi'lek settlement.

He did not like it, but it did allow a great deal of opportunity to heal battle-wounded, near-human physiology. He watched Orosan and learned much from her and lent her strength when he could. As the time went by, he became more adept at the more serious wounds and felt like he was really doing some good, but it still bothered him that they could not do something to stop the barbaric Flesh Raiders.

"You want to go and do something, do you not," asked Orosan one day. "I can see it in your eyes and your posture. "

"I do not like it much," he admitted.

"Meet me at the southern balcony at the ninth hour," she whispered. "Come ready to fight." He jerked up to look her in the eyes and she silenced him with a look. Finally, he nodded and they parted for the day. He asked leave of Master Bariim for an afternoon off and took a late afternoon nap. When it was dark, he ghosted out of his room in full armor and practiced his dormant stealth skills to reach the location. He was slightly pleased that Orosan jerked in surprise when he approached her.

"You will do then, I suppose, if you can come that quietly," she said and then leaped over the balcony. She made her way through the woody, rocky terrain at a fast clip and he simply followed and cast his senses out to the environment. Soon, they came to a hidden speeder bike that she pulled out, uncovered and soon revved up. After that, he had to hang on tightly as she blasted away and they travelled for another standard timepart. When they finally stopped, she climbed off and hid the bike in a location that appeared to have been used before.

"Come on," she beckoned and started to climb the rocky terrain in leaps and bounds. Eventually they reached a perch that overlooked what he assumed was the Twi'lek settlement.

"Why did they come here?" he asked.

"I have no idea," she said. "They are a rather ragged lot."

"And you have been doing this how long without getting caught?" he asked.

"A while," she said. "They do not come every night. I come four or five times a week, but generally only encounter the Flesh Raiders perhaps one out of four times. This is where I watch for them. They are not stealthy."

Orosan was not at all talkative as they waited, so Shemric began to meditate and thus sensed the approach of a very combative life form before she did. "Something is coming."

She jerked in surprise. "How can you tell?"

"I can sense something with ill intentions," he said.

It the dark, it was hard to read her expression, so he was not sure if she frowned or was impressed. "Well, then today we get some action." She led him down off the rocky overlook and ghosted through the forest. He assumed she sensed them too by then, because her actions were very focused. Eventually she stopped and waited in the shadow of a large tree. "Here they come."

"What is your plan?" he asked quickly.

"I kill them until they turn around," she said in a harsh voice.

"Fair enough," he said. Shemric had brought his pike with him and decided it would give him the best standoff against the large creatures. He actually smelled them before he saw them lumbering through the trees. Orosan scrambled up the trunk of the tree and he followed more slowly.

"Do not get killed," she said and leaped off the tree limb. She ignited her dual sabers at the last possible moment and took the head off the huge creature at the front of the line. The other creatures started firing wildly and Shemric closed his eyes to avoid the flash-induced blindness. He hurled his javelin to impale one raider and clove another from head to mid-section as he landed. There was very little to fighting the creatures as they began to send blaster bolts in his direction and he used the Shien variation of Djem So to direct them back at the beasts that screamed and tried to flee.

Shemric was vaguely aware of Orosan carving pieces out of the foul-smelling beasts until they were in full flight; the crashing sound through the forest was deafening until they had all moved far away. Orosan's face was flushed as she met up with him. "You are very good, Shemric. I guess all the rumors I keep hearing must be true. And that thing," he motioned her head at his Force-pike, "looks brutally effective. Come, let us get back. I do not think this group will be back for a while. We created quite a bit of carnage tonight."

They jogged slowly back from the site of the battle and eventually found the speeder again. After the fight and the run, the ride back was chilly so that Shemric was shivering by the time they left the speeder bike. Orosan showed him a quiet, inconspicuous way back into the headquarters and parted with him quietly. "Thank you. I think we shall have no victims in the morning."

"How do you do this at night and then show up at the seventh hour?" he asked.

"Lots of naps," she said in a near giggle. "Be well, Shemric," she said and kissed him on the cheek. It was so surprising that he stood there in shock as she slunk off down the dark hallways. He made his way quietly back to his room and set his alarm; he doubted he would awake on his own.

The morning rounds were rather short and they finished in the healing wing before the tenth hour. Orosan's entire attitude had changed toward him from resentful, to reserved to downright flirty this morning. "I have never seen you on the training grounds," he mentioned once as they were parting.

"I do not go in during normal hours," she said. "Usually when others are at lunch or the evening meal. Battlemaster Bariim gives me a bit of her time."

"Oh, she does; how interesting," he noted.

"Care to come during lunch?" she asked.

"I am hungry," he said.

She made a face and made fun of him. Eventually she shamed him into meeting her during the lunch hour. When he arrived, he was surprised how many people were there. Nofa raised an eyebrow when he walked up to her as she was sitting on her stool eating a sandwich that it appeared Orosan had brought.

"I see," he said, smiling. "You bring her lunch and she trains you."

Nofa looked surprised that they knew each other. "When did you two meet?"

"Only the same day I came to you the first time," said Shemric.

"Oh, dear, I had no idea," she said. "Now her comments make so much more sense," and she gave Nofa a knowing look. The Togruta blushed, something he had never seen before. "So let me guess? She has roped you into her little crusade."

He gave Orosan a startled look. "She knows?"

Orosan nodded.

"Well, then," he said and then could not think of anything else to say.

"Well, I for one, am happy you came, lovely Shemric," said Nofa. "I have wanted to work you out against someone with a little skill at double blades. Warm up a bit and then have a go at each other."

"Oh, I would be too scared to take on a _master_ ," teased Orosan, but she did not look scared; she looked excited. She was looking forward to the challenge.

He frowned at her and she winked and walked out to the training space. She hardly seemed like the same person he had met. For one thing, her training gear was borderline scandalous. She was wearing tall boots, a short battle skirt and a tiny tube top that did not contain her chest at all.

Nofa alighted on his shoulder before he could walk off to meet her. "You should be flattered, Shemric; that is not how she normally dresses," whispered Nofa and then she laughed out loud and leaped back to her perch.

They faced off and warmed up with simple Form I drills, then worked through some Form II stuff and finally ended up with a few Ataru attacks. After finishing the basics, they both took a sip of water and then squared off in the center of the space. She came at him in a whirl of sabers and was every bit as aggressive as he had suspected she would be. He met her calmly in Sorensu and let her exhaust a bit of energy as she attacked him with a combination of Makashi and Ataru. When she was started to look a little frustrated, he made the subtle shift to Djem So and started countering her charge with counterattacks of his own. She was not never good on the defense and he quickly struck her in a location that would have been deadly with a real blade.

She stepped back with a surprised look on her face. Her eyes narrowed in determination and she came at him again, but this time he met her solidly with form V and defeated her quickly two times in succession. After the third defeat, she stepped back again and he finally thought he saw a bit of respect in her eyes.

"Come, come," called Nofa and they both walked over to the battlemaster.

"I hope that it becomes more obvious why practicing base Sorensu is a good idea," said Nofa.

"Well, usually it is not an issue," said Orosan grudgingly.

Nofa looked skyward and shook her head. "They all think that until someone comes along that is better than they are." She shared a look with Shemric who smiled.

Orosan seemed to be offended by the look and threw her head back. Sofa silenced her with a look. "I have agreed to teach you and keep your secret, but that will end if I hear any tantrums from you. Orosan, you are very good, but you are nowhere near a master and Shemric could probably qualify in Makashi, and definitely in Sorensu and Djem So, and that is does not even take into the account the new form he uses when he gets a bit angry. He can teach you and help you improve, but not if you cannot admit to yourself that he is very much your better. Today, he took it easy on you."

Orosan's face went through a gamut of emotions before ending up chagrined. "My apologies battlemaster; I will try to be humble."

Nofa actually snorted and Orosan had to still her face again. "Very well," said the Jawa. "The first thing I want you to do is teach Shemric the double-bladed Sorensu practice form that you have learned."

"You want me to learn double-blade form?" said Shemric in surprise.

"I do; do you have a problem with that?" she shot back.

"No, Battlemaster, I would not dare," he said and snapped to attention before pulling out his second blade and replacing the blue crystal with a practice one and reassembling it in about two seconds.

"Show-off," mumbled Orosan to Shemric. Even Nofa had blinked her large eyes in surprise at what he had done.

"Did you just replace the crystal?" she asked.

"I did," he admitted.

"That is remarkable," she said. "Do the wonders never stop?"

"The Golden Child," mumbled Orosan, but she smiled when she said it and he rolled his eyes. Nofa stood on his shoulder while they watched Orosan as she demonstrated the form. It was quite clever and he wondered if Nofa had designed it herself. After perhaps thirty timeparts, they were moving through it at about three-quarter speed and he felt quite comfortable. Nofa whistled and they approached her perch.

"Now, I want you to switch back and forth between offense and defense at half speed; on offense you will use one blade," she said. They nodded and began to work on the forms they had been practicing until they were coming close to full speed. The double-bladed Sorensu variation seemed like an extension of the normal form but it used the two blades together in ways to make up for the lack of power from wielding it with only one arm. When they both started to look tired, Nofa called a halt.

"You are already better at it than I am," groused Orosan.

"It has a very natural feel to it and I am very comfortable with Sorensu," he explained.

"You could just accept it as a compliment," she said.

"Thank you," he said.

Nofa leaped on Shemric's shoulder and began to point out things they could work on next time. She directed Shemric about with Orosan in tow and occasionally yelled at other students. When they had made the entire rounds of the training area, Nofa returned to her stool and bid them farewell. "I suppose you will not be here this afternoon, Shemric."

"I really feel the need for a nap," he said and yawned on cue.

"Have a good day, Shemric, Orosan," she said.

"And to you, too, Nofa," he said and started walking off. Orosan fell in beside him.

"And you always call the Battlemaster by her first name?" she asked quietly.

It occurred to Shemric that he had broken the 'when no one is around' rule. "Well, yes. She insisted, but not in front of the other students."

"Should I be honored?" she asked.

"Maybe; she seems to like you," he said.

"Not as much as she likes you," she pointed out.

"Well, I am more likeable," he deadpanned.

Orosan snorted loudly and gave him a look of amusement. "Well, it pains me to admit that you are very good."

"Why pains?" he asked. "I was fighting in the war when you were still wearing napkins."

"You are not that much older than me!" she protested.

"Well, maybe not, but from the time I became a Padawan until well after the Treaty of Coruscant, I have been fighting, somewhere, discounting my last couple of years on Coruscant," he said. "There is nothing like practice to improve your skills. Plus, I have had the opportunity of late to be sharpened even further."

"Well, be that as it may, you do not look like a big, bad, Jedi butt-kicker," she said.

"Sorry, I would get a few menacing tattoos, but that just is not my style," he said. "Plus, I hear they are painful."

Another snort from her and he decided that they must be friends by now if she was laughing at his jokes.

"Do I have to come to your training sessions in the afternoon if I want to pound on you?" she asked.

"Yeah, you did not do much of that today," he remarked back.

She said, "Practice, practice, practice," in such a good imitation of Master Bariim's voice that he laughed out loud.

"Probably not," he said. "I am guessing she is going to expect me to meet up with you before lunch _and_ come to my normal afternoon workouts."

"Excellent," she said. "Then I will just meet you there at noon every day."

"I guess so," he mumbled. "You should wear something a little less distracting."

"This is traditional Togruta training attire," she said. "It is hot and steamy on my planet." She stopped and gave him a pouting look of disappointment. "Are you sure you might not enjoy it," she said and gave him a proper bow due a master; at least, it might have been proper if she was not wearing that ridiculously small tube top. The bow only served to give him a lovely view of her female assets.

He cleared his throat and wrenched his gaze away. She laughed at him and they continued on their way. He did not really know where they were going until she stopped and keyed open a door. It was her room.

She yawned expansively and then looked both ways up and down the hall before leaning in and kissing him full on the mouth. She must have been offended by his shocked expression because she stood back, now in her room, and put her hands on her hips.

"Come now, we got off to a rocky start, but do not try and tell me we do not have a little chemistry cooking up," she said. "You are welcome to join me," she said. She paused and he wondered what she was inviting him to join. She looked exasperated and said, "For a shower, and a nap."

"Uhh," he was totally unprepared to sound intelligent and not offend her by declining. "I … I think not. Listen, Orosan, …"

Something in his expression and posture must have given her a clue because she spoke next. "Please do not say you are already in a relationship. The one Jedi male who will actually look at me as something other than 'one of the boys'," she said.

"It is complicated," he said. "You have no idea."

"Isn't it always?" she said and something in her tone made him think she was not angry or embarrassed. "Well that is a story I have to hear then, if we are going to be … _friends_."

"Are we?" he said. "You are not going to be angry with me?"

She sighed and seemed to deflate a little. "This place is so impersonal sometimes. You are not very Jedi-like in some of your manner. I liked the way you looked at me."

"Well, I cannot help myself now, can I?" he asked. "You are very attractive; and you started dressing more ... native … just to provoke me."

"Entice, not provoke," she corrected him.

"As you say," he agreed. "I do like you, and I promise you, I will tell you the story. But not now, I am tired and sweaty and I need a nap. Meet me at the sixth hour in the chow hall and I will regale you with tales of adventure and romance." Shemric fled and took a very cold shower. Fortunately, he was tired enough that he still fell asleep quickly. And then overslept.

* * *

By the time Shemric made it to the chow hall, he was an hour late and there were only a few stragglers left. The cooks scraped together a plate for him and he ate quickly and then went looking for Orosan.

She was not in her room and frankly, he did not know where else she hung out so he just wandered randomly about headquarters for another hour until he decided to go to the roof and found her sitting in a comfortable chair, watching the sun go down.

"You do not have an alarm?" she asked. She was sitting back in what he guess was more traditional Togruta attire; it did not cover very much of her. Well, the boots covered he legs up to her knees.

"Is this how it is going to be, from now on?" he asked.

"What?" she said, spreading her arms. She also wiggled just a bit in a way that was no accident. "You better have a good story for me or I may have to take extreme measures."

He sighed and pulled up a chair that let him see her out of his peripheral vision but was not so distracting. He pulled a noise suppressor out of his pocket and set it down on the ground next to him and flipped it on.

She gave him a look. "Paranoid much?"

"I have never told anyone the whole story," he said. "I am not really sure why I am telling you, but I kind of want to, so shut up and listen."

"You mean I don't get to ask questions?"

"Sure you can; I will feel free to ignore you," he said. "It all began on Taris."

"As in the Taris bombed back to the stone age by our less than wonderful former Jedi Malak?" she asked.

"The same," he said. "My master and I were on Bandomeer when we received a call that there were Sith on Taris looking for something important. We snuck in, thinking we were clever, and went looking for the information about which we had received a tip. It turned out to be a trap. I was sent looking for something specific while my master stayed and investigated nearer the ship. When I arrived at the computer node where I was sent, there was a Sith waiting for me; worse, my master was ambushed and killed.

"And you were stranded?" she asked in surprise. "On Taris."

"Pretty much," he said. "The Sith apprentice that had been sent after me was actually being targeted by her master, so fighters came and shot up the building. We managed to escape after I lifted a big chunk of stone off of her, then healed the girl's leg."

"Wait!" cried Orosan. "Your main squeeze is a Sith? No wonder you need a sound suppressor."

"I never said that," he said.

"Oh, come on," she said. "How hard is it to figure out? You two escape together, have a life-altering survival experience and then get busy."

He scowled at her. "Do you want to tell the story?" She just waved at him. "We escaped Sith hunters and went below the surface. Her lovely master sent alchemist nightmare dogs after us and let us not forget all the other ghuls and underground denizens that came to smell us out. But, we learned to work together, practiced and then confronted her master. We did all right for two younglings confronting a Sith Lord but eventually he beat us down and came over to gloat. He picked me up and offered me training if I would become his new apprentice. I put a wrist-knife in his neck." He stopped and thought about that moment. It has been as close as he had ever been to dying. "We took his ship and she flew me to Bonadan."

"Once I managed to make it back to the temple, I reported another incident that had happened," he continued. "We had been contacted by a group of refugees that had crashed on Taris a decade earlier and managed to survive. It turned out to be Grand Master Zym's brother who had been lost."

"Wait, how did we get off your yum-yum so quickly?" she interrupted. "Details, details."

He gave her a flat look. "We were kids. I was seventeen. She was a skinny girl a year or two younger."

"And you did not do anything?" asked Orosan. "This tale was supposed to be juicy and make me not resent you declining my offer. You better do better."

"Fine," he said, shaking his head. "After we escaped the planet, we took turns patching each other up. She was scantily clad at the time and we sort of … made out for a bit."

"Ok, those are the salacious details I was talking about," she interjected.

"Nothing else happened," he said. "We changed our minds." Orosan frowned but he ignored her. "She did kiss me goodbye rather thoroughly in the spaceport."

"Let us move along," she said. "So you returned to the temple, saved the Grand Master's brother and kissed your first girl. Well?"

"Well what?"

"Was she any good?" she asked.

"I was a youngling and hyped up on testosterone," he said. "And all we did was make out a bit."

Orosan rolled her eyes.

"Well after I returned, I was back at the Temple, but without a master and with some enemies who did not like me because of my parents, who were both Jedi that got married and left the Order."

"Whoa, you may have missed a few details," she said.

"We do not have all day," he pointed out. "Eventually, I had another master take me on. I was very old when I came to the Temple and was nearly not sponsored as a Padawan, but it was a time of war and I have always been good with a saber. Master Panarch was a very martial Jedi and wanted to be in the fight. He took me back to Balmorra with him and we fought there for more than a year before the Treaty of Coruscant happened and we were withdrawn."

"You fought with Panarch?" she said interrupting him.

He rolled his eyes and ignored her. "During the withdrawal, I found that we were leaving troops behind and it upset me. I jumped out of the troop carrier and helped the battalion escape to the lower depths of the city and then disperse in the population. But, I was stuck on Balmorra under Sith occupation, so I joined their resistance. A lot of the Republic soldiers that I helped escape joined us and I became an annoying gnat in the overall Sith war effort on Balmorra. But, I was annoying enough that they sent a Sith assassin to eliminate me."

"That is classic," she interrupted, "and the assassin turns out to be your yum-yum and she stays to help." She clapped her hands together like a little girl. "Details."

"Well, yes, it went more or less like that," he said. "We were five years older and much changed, but when we saw each other, there were definitely sparks."

"She stayed with us for eighteen months while we fought with the underground," he said. "It was … has always been a very odd relationship. She is very competitive. She always pushed me to train harder when we fought."

"And you are not competitive?" she said. "Come on. It sounds like you were made for each other."

"Maybe," he said. "We did sort of fit together," he mused.

"But your tone says it did not end well," she prompted.

"No, we were planning a big attack and I gave her an area of responsibility," he said. "In fact, it was sort of vital. When she had not reported in, I realized what was happening. Worse, I had a Force-vision that showed me possibilities. I had never had one before and have not since. Basically, I picked out the future I wanted and followed the thread back. It was not what I wanted to see. I had to beat her down and leave her for a time."

"Really, that is great; star-crossed lovers then mortal enemies," said Orosan. She seemed to be nostalgic about something.

"So no, it did not end well; I left her drugged in a ship around Kashyyyk," he said. "I eventually came to Tython and had to face Council censure. Some thought I had done a great deal of good. Many of the soldiers we smuggled out of Balmorra had returned to the Republic and told stories. Some did not like that I had been breaking the Treaty and disobeyed a master. In the end, I was made a knight and sent to Coruscant as punishment. I was ostensibly the Council's messenger to the Senate, which was never pleasant after the Sacking of the capital. I was sort of languishing there, dying a little more every day when I sensed she was near."

"A Sith in the Republic capital? I will bet that was some disguise," she said.

"You have no idea," he said. He must have been silent too long because she poked him in the ribs.

"Details, details."

"Are none of your business," he said. She giggled and he waited out her fit until she calmed herself enough to listen. "Anyway," he said, trying to ignore her, "She had been sent to disrupt the military activities of a certain Darth Malgus in the Unknown Regions."

She sobered right up when that name was mentioned. "As in the infamous Sith who destroyed the temple?"

"That is the one," he said. "Apparently, his plan was to raze Coruscant to the ground. He was less than happy with the Treaty and went off to create his own war. The Dark Council was not really happy about that and so her master sent her to smuggle supplies to the resistance on Belkadan. The trip from Ruuria was like five different jumps that each lasted a day and then the delivery and the return trip. Her ship was very small and not particularly comfortable so she decided she needed a partner.

"More like she wanted a little _kullee_ ," mumbled Orosan.

"Excuse me," he said.

"Oh, nothing; go on," she said.

"Anyway, we made a run there and back and her master turns up on Ruuria with new orders," he continued. "She was upping the ante and we had to change ships to a larger one that could hold bigger munitions. It was also less maneuverable. During the second run we got ambushed by Malgus' cronies trying to make the drop off and when I spared some of them she went all crazy Sith on me and tried to .. well, not kill me, but at least kick my ass. So we left immediately and the Sith squadron was waiting and again we barely survived."

He continued to tell about the stop on Ord Janon, the surprise fight with Darth Malgus, the ensuing fight and the trip to Zeltron.

"Wow, it takes a confident woman to take her yummers to that place," said Orosan.

"Yummers?"

"Oh, you know, her main squeeze; the Devaronians would not use it that way, but I think it is appropriate," she said. Somehow she kept a straight face.

"She informed me that yum-yum did not apply both ways; in fact, she laughed at me when I asked if I was her yum-yum," he said with a very serious face.

She snorted. "So you have already heard of that term and she introduced you to it I am guessing." She chuckled quietly to herself.

"So she rented a tropical island and we trained for the next 30 standard days," he said. "Apparently, we had more enemies than we imagined because they found us and attacked us on that lovely little island. I am sure the Zeltrons are still having fits over the mess we left." He shook his head at the memory. "And then we parted. I am sure she has ascended by now and become Darth Lord Heinous or some such thing."

"And that does not bother you? That your yum-yum is a Darkside user," she asked.

"Does it bother you that I killed Darth Malgus by redirecting his own lighting back at him? Some Jedi consider lightning a tool solely of the Dark side."

Orosan seemed to consider that for a time. "I do not have the first inkling of how to produce lighting so I have no idea what it takes," she said finally. " _You_ do not feel like other Jedi users of the Force, but neither do I sense the Dark side in you. You are different, which is what I said earlier."

"Well, it is strange to have someone know the whole story," he admitted.

"You left out a lot of juicy good stuff, so I am not sure that I would call that 'the whole story' but at least I understand you a little better," she said. "Your story is like that classic tale of the doomed lovers who came from the crime syndicate and from law enforcement background; it just never works out."

"We shall see," he said.

"What? Do you imagine after you do …whatever it is you are going to do, that she is just going to stop being Sith and settle down and have a dozen babies with you?" she said.

"Something like that," he said.

She gave him a skeptical look. "Now who has been reading too many novels?"

"I saw it in my Force-vision," he said. "It was not very likely, but it was possible."

"Well, I guess after that story I will have to stop bugging you," she said. "I have to respect a man who is loyal to his yum-yum."

"Must you call her that?"

"Well, you did not tell me her name and … well, have you married her?" When he shook his head, she went on. "What do you want me to call her? Not everyone is familiar with the term 'yum-yum'. Do you want me to go around referring to her as your Sith, on-again, off-again, spy, warrior-, lover-girl? That is a little long and might raise a few eyebrows."

"I do not know why you need to call her anything," he mumbled.

She only laughed. "How am I going to tease you if I cannot call her by something?"

He sighed. He doubted that his telling of the story had made things any easier between them. In fact, it may have just added fuel to the fire.


	25. Chapter 25

Shem had been back on Tython for a couple of months when he observed that Nofa was constantly having him try new techniques and forms. "You do not seem happy with my level of progress. Just when I think I am getting somewhere, you introduce some new element that I need to improve. Sometimes I feel like one of those old Jedi swords they used to make here on Tython. You pound and pound and pound on me. What are you trying to make?"

"The best you possible," she said, smiling. "Just like everyone else here. The difference is that your metal is the highest possible grade so you require a bit more refinement before you become the blade you need to be."

"And you know what that is?" he asked.

"Not at all," she said. "But I sense it will need to be a very, very good one. Sooo… I think you should start lifting weights to improve your strength."

That suggestion surprised him. He hated the gym. When she saw his grimace, she explained. "Fitness is not an issue for you, but everyone can be stronger. It is the next step for you."

"Yes, ma'am," he said meekly. She laughed and leaped off his shoulder to her stool.

And thus it was, the next morning he found himself in the gym, following the training regimen on his wrist-mounted mobile device. In truth, the first session was not much, but before long he would come out of the gym feeling spent and then have to jog to the training floor to begin with the sabers. It was exhausting.

His time on Tython passed more quickly than he had imagined it would when he left Julienne feeling lonely and depressed. Their connection had deepened considerably and severing it had been more traumatic than Shemric had expected. Perhaps the difference was that they had parted amicably this time; the anger and resentment of their second parting had covered some of the loss of companionship.

Admittedly, his friendship with Orosan had helped considerably while still providing a temptation to which he was not inclined to concede. There were no more blatant attempts to seduce him, but neither was there any lessoning of the insidious and continuous flirting and innuendo.

His status as a master was still in doubt as well, as some addressed him with the title, others simply used his name and some were quick to point out that he was still "just a Knight." He found that he was adaptable to all of them. Those who called him Master tended to be those who knew more of him and respected him; those who took the middle ground had no opinion and the rest disliked him for reasons of their own but really knew nothing of him personally.

His position as assistant battlemaster did nothing to help him gain more friends. At some point or other, nearly all the Jedi came to train with Master Bariim and when they did, she nearly always used Shemric to point out their flaws and help them improve. This tended to be embarrassing and the learners did not often thank the teacher for his efforts. Master Bariim increasing spoke to him as an equal and he found that her friendship was something to which he looked forward each day.

He continued to go out occasionally with Orosan to fight the Flesh Raiders and in so doing there was a marked decrease in the number of casualties they saw from the Twi'lek settlement. Shemric suspected that Master Slocum knew exactly what was happening, but chose to let it continue. How long they would escape notice was a question neither he nor Orosan chose to discuss.

Things with Orosan never quite settled down and he had to make it a point not to be alone with her. She was not at all subtle in her flirtations and unfortunately, they spent a great deal of time together between morning work with Master Slocum and lunch practice with Nofa. Despite her claim to respect his decision, she sought him out in secluded place far too often to be a coincidence. Unfortunately, whenever they snuck out to fight the Flesh Raiders, there was no way he could avoid her alone and his desire to help the Twi'leks warred with his attempts to fend off Orosan's advances.

After not going with her on several nights, she finally pinned him down for a midnight raid after she claimed the attacks were increasing again. He relented and they headed out as usual, but thankfully she was all business. They staged in their normal location and right on cue, the Flesh Raiders appeared in their normal column. They seemed to have devolved in their caution and defensive formation and he sensed Orosan's eagerness to get to business. As she was about to leap, he grabbed her arm.

"Wait," he whispered. "Something is not right. I do not like this."

She shook off his arm. "They are right in position. We need to act now." She leaped out of the tree and landed on the closest Raider's shoulder to imbalance him and slice halfway through its neck. She leaped again and impaled the next Raider that howled loudly but died nearly as quickly. A loud gonging sound went up as Orosan was engaging the next Raider and other Flesh Raiders emerged from the trees and began converging on her position.

 _Oh, this is going to be a mess_ , he thought as he waited a few moments longer for any other surprises. When their simple trap appeared to be all that was happening, he dropped to the ground quietly and rushed the back of the closest Flesh Raider. They clearly intended to create a wall of flesh to prevent anyone from escaping. This group was armed primarily with energy weapons, which was not at all normal and they were firing wildly at their hated Jedi enemy despite hitting their own kind quite often.

Shem took down two unsuspecting Raiders quickly by cutting them off at the knee and Force-shoved them sideways to make a space in the circle that he could enter. He had brought his pike that he used to swing in long arcing attacks to dismember the creatures and keep them back, but as more of them shifted fire to him, he had to pull out both of his sabers and defend himself rather than attack. Shem had hoped the distraction would bring forth Orosan but she remained out of view and he waded deeper into the mess both to make it more difficult for the outer circle to hit him with fire and because he feared she was injured.

He burst into the circle where she was fighting to see that she was down to one saber because the other arm was hanging limp. He Force-leaped to her side and shouted for her to get down. He knew they were dead unless he did something extreme and so Shem pulled at all the power he could hold and then sent it out in a hundred fine threads of lightning that lit up the night and caused those ambushers not struck to be temporally blinded.

"Come on!" he shouted and used one more blast of sheet lightning to widen the gap he had entered. He sensed her following, but slowly so he decreased his pace and carefully circled her with both sabers whirling. One more shove toppled the outermost edge of the circle and they burst through and ran for the tree line. Random shots followed them but their swiftness made other pursuit vain. Once the firing stopped, Shem went to Orosan and did a quick exam. She had laser burns in several places including her torso and shoulder and was also limping. In the midst of his exam, she let out a low sigh and collapsed.

A further examination led Shem to believe none of the wounds would be life-threatening so he lifted her over his shoulder and began walking slowly. She was not light and he was soon winded and starting to falter before they were halfway back to the speeder. He had to rest twice along the way and nearly swooned himself when he finally set her down at the speeder's bushy hiding spot. He supposed it was the use of lightning that had so completely exhausted him and it took three attempts before he could stand. He was never going to be able to steer and hold her as well so he had a dilemma; heal her enough to regain consciousness or risk her falling off in transit. He finally decided that he was not going to make it back with her as baggage, so he crawled over and touched her head.

His head ached from the effort and it seemed he could sense very little in his present state, but there was a lot of damage and it was not very hard to find. He made subtle improvements and nudged her own body to speed up the healing process, before falling back in exhaustion. He surely hoped that Orosan was going to wake up, because he could not keep his eyes open any longer and blackness took him.

* * *

Waking up in his own bed made Shem wonder if it had all been a bad dream until he tried to move. The room spun and he lay back in time to have Orosan's face come into view.

"It is a good thing that you don't have any friends but me or else more people would wonder why you have been sleeping for two days," she said cheerily. "Well, except for the Battlemaster, but I spoke to her at the first opportunity. Why are you so exhausted?"

"Saving idiots from themselves must be extra tiring," he mumbled. Her face fell for a moment and he thought she might be contrite, but an instant later she had her finger in his face and was lecturing _him_. "Why did you heal me instead of just taking me back to the Temple? And why were you passed out in the first place? You did not even look injured."

He gave her a sour look until she quieted down. "I had to carry your lard-butt over my shoulder for several klicks and that was _after_ pulling your idiot-self out of a sea of Raiders."

She was unfazed. "You already called me an idiot once. You should branch out."

"Fine, imbecile," he said. "See, my brain is working better already. How about reckless, inexperienced, and downright suicidal!"

"That is better," she said, pulling up a chair. "At least you don't sound whiny anymore."

Shemric lay back and closed his eyes. Deep calming breaths were what he needed. Maybe she would think he fell asleep and go away.

"You still have not explained what you were thinking," she said. He groaned. She had not gone away.

"I suspect that it had to do with the amount of lightning I used on the Raiders," he said without opening his eyes. "Blunt use of the Force has never really been my thing. I did some training back a few months ago and it always seemed to exhaust me."

It was quiet so long that he cracked an eyelid to see that she was still sitting there watching him. He frowned and reached behind him to fold his pillow so he could sit up a bit.

"You clearly are not going to leave me alone, so you may as well say your peace," he said. "You look much better off than when I last saw you."

"Master Slocum healed me himself, but only after I promised to not go out against the Raiders anymore," she admitted. "He pronounced you as simply tired and you would need to rest. Other than that, nothing has come of it."

"Well, that is better than two fools have a right to expect," he mumbled. She did not rise to the bait. He wondered what was wrong with her. She was just staring at him. Finally, he just threw up his hands. Well, he tried to but he barely fluttered them above his sheets. "You are welcome. Just get over it. And go away, so I can go back to sleep." His stomach grumbled and he noted a tray of food. "Thanks for this." He dug in and managed to clear his entire plate and she still had not spoken.

"I don't think I have ever 'almost died' before," she said.

"You get used to it," he muttered.

She gave him a stern look that did not invite further comment. "Not only did I think I was dead, but I did not believe you could do anything about it, even were you inclined to try. You proved me wrong. I suspect you prove a lot of people wrong because you are so _kriffing_ self-effacing and humble that no one can take you seriously." She looked at him like she expected something, but he waited her out. "Anyway, it would be ungracious of me not to thank you for everything you did. Maybe your way was the only way once the ambush started." She stood and looked at him. "Get some rest."

He shook his head. If that was her way of thanking him she clearly had never learned manners. She turned to wink at him just as she left the room. "See you later."

He shivered. Something in the way she had spoken made all his senses kick into overdrive. Had he the energy, he would have crawled out of bed and locked his door. Instead he turned off the light and shrunk down in his bedding.

Shem should not have been surprised that he found himself on the island. His exhaustion and probable psychic distress had very likely alerted Julienne that something was wrong. Her full-on Sith battle gear always seemed out of place there, so she immediately shifted them to the forest where they had often trained.

 _"_ _What have you been up to Shemric?" she asked immediately. She actually looked quite concerned. He felt a slap on the head and spun to see there was no one there. "Really, Shem? You should know I can do whatever I like here? I don't need to actually smack you with my virtual hand for you to feel it."_

 _Shem rubbed his virtual head and scowled at her. She must have thought he look silly because she laughed and that seemed out of place too while she was looking so Sith-like. Her smile faded._

 _"_ _I don't do a lot of laughing in my present work, Shem," she said. "Are you well? I felt a lot of … well, something, recently."_

 _"_ _Just foolishness on my part," he said and explained the situation with Orosan and the Twi'leks and the Flesh Raiders._

 _She shook her head, but she looked fond. "Ever the compassionate one, my dear. Well, at least you are alive. I would have loved to see you blast them with lightning, though. You become more dangerous." Now the feeling of fondness was really rolling off her. Him becoming more dangerous was a reason for her to feel affection towards him. What a strange woman._

 _"_ _I heard that, Shem," she said and shifted them back to the beach. They were dressed in casual clothes on their chairs but Julienne had her big sun hat. "Tell me about this new Togruta yum-yum of yours."_

 _"_ _Would you stop," he said. "For an obscure slang word, there are a surprising large number of people that have heard of it."_

 _"_ _When and with whom did that come up in conversation?" she asked._

 _"_ _Orosan used it when I told her about you."_

 _"_ _You tell people about me?" she said in surprise. "How does that go over?"_

 _"_ _Well, Master Shan tries to be understanding, Orosan finds it amusing and Nofa, the Jawa battlemaster, keeps pressing me for details," he said. "That about concludes my list of friends at the Temple and I do not see the Grand Master very often."_

 _"_ _I sense there is more about this Orosan that you are not telling me?" asked Julienne. "Togruta are not that far off near-human for you to not find them attractive."_

 _"_ _Yeah, well, you might describe her as overly forward," he said._

 _"_ _So you do find her attractive?" said Julienne and her tone could have been teasing or accusation._

 _Shemric shook his head. "Why are we talking about this when we have not seen each other for months? How did your return to Dromund Kaas go? Were you promoted?"_

 _Her face fell and she switched back to full Sith gear sitting on a hard chair. "I do not want to talk about it, Shem." Her face was hard, so that she seemed like a different person. She must have noted his distressed look at the change and immediately soften her tone and expression. "Shem, you have to understand, I cannot be in two worlds at once. I cannot be a Sith and not appear hard and cold to you. You make me remember compassion and smiles and companionship and I cannot just turn that off and on without someone noticing. Right now I must be a Sith and finish what we have started." She reached across to him and her tender touch was at odds with her attire. "I do miss you, Shem. But our time is not now. Be very careful, Shem."_

He had never really been able to note the transition between 'the dream' and dreaming and this time was no different. He awoke with a sob in the darkened room and a keen sense of loss at her departures. He was glad there was no one to see him lying in the dark, covering his face with his hands as the tears flowed.

* * *

Bariim came to see him once and Orosan every day, despite him warning her that it might not look appropriate. She laughed and said she was never really very appropriate. Whenever she left him, she made some statement that implied she owed him thanks and then would not say anything further. It began to make him uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Master Slocum put it around that he had overextended himself in a healing and was on bed rest, so his meals were brought to him and no one questioned him. He supposed it was technically true. He did not really want to tell the kind Master that he had burned up dozens of Flesh Raiders with lightning.

After he felt up to it, he had crawled out of bed on the fifth day, washed, shaved and dressed and made his way to the practice floor to see Bariim. She gave him one look and did not leap to his shoulder, but offered him her stool.

"You don't look up to martial pursuits today," she said in greeting. "What brings you to my domain?"

"I just needed to get out," he said.

"You mean hide from Orosan," she chuckled. "You know, one way to deal with her kind is to give them what they want. Sometime they stop pursuing you afterwards."

He snorted indelicately. "If you had ever met Julienne, you would understand that was not an option."

"Perhaps, someday," she said hopefully. "Anyone you fear as much as her must really be someone."

"Any new promising younglings?" he asked, changing the subject. "

She chuckled and said nothing. She was not going to be any help.

Shem did his best not to be found the next day and managed to go all the way into the afternoon before being accosted.

Orosan eventually cornered him in, of all places, the library.

"I did not know you knew where the library was," he whispered. At least there would be no shouting here. Everyone knew better than to draw the ire of Jedi Master Kehull, the near ancient Bothan who oversaw the many tomes and holocrons that had been saved from the wreck of the Temple on Coruscant.

She gave him a withering look and sat down. She did not appear uncomfortable at all, but she must have noticed his discomfort.

"I think you have been avoiding me," she began. "Now that you are up and about."

"Maybe," he admitted. "I have a sense of impending doom."

"Most men would not consider my thanks 'impending doom.'

"Most people do not have a Sith Lord looking over their shoulder," he countered. "You missed your chance; now I am aware and able to defend myself."

She looked at him like he was an idiot. "You were weak and recovering, Shem. I did not want you to pass out in the middle of the fun."

Shemric rubbed his hand over his face and vowed to himself that he would find a way to make her stop.

"So are you coming to practice this afternoon?" she asked.

"Probably not," he said. "I am going to start with a little running before I put myself back in the arena."

"Well, let me know when," she whispered cheerily, "and I will join you."

"Only if you wear something modest," he said.

She snickered. "You like staring at me."

He snorted loudly. "You do not understand men very well. Anyone would stare when you jump about half-naked."

Her face fell and she looked hurt. "So your witch has you completely under her thumb, then?"

"I would not put it that way," he said. Then he thought about it for a while. "Yeah, I guess she does. Plus, you do not want to run afoul of her. Her temper is epic."

"Well, I do not understand how she would even find out," said Orosan.

"She is a very accomplished psionic," he said. "She can do a lot of things neither you nor I understand."

"How do you know that all your affection for her is not some plant in your mind?" she asked.

He shook his head. She just did not want to understand. "My affection for her started the day I met her long before we were ever joined."

That thought clearly bothered her as well. "And if I came to your room tonight you would not open up to me?"

He shook his head and she looked angry. Maybe she would leave him alone now, he thought, but since he rather enjoyed her friendship, it was not comforting. She sniffed and got up and left.

As he had suspected, Orosan avoided him and he was lonelier than ever. After the very first meeting, he did not see Grand Master Shan again except occasionally in passing or at random times that any Jedi might have reason to see the leader of the Order. When they did meet, she would always have a quiet word with him and seem to know exactly what was happening in his life.

That changed when he had been on Tython for six months. One day when the training day was nearly complete and he had been more of a supervisor than an actual sparring combatant, the Grand Master quietly entered the training area and approached Master Bariim and Shemric as they were concluding their rounds.

"Ahh, Grand Master, welcome," said Nofa. "I am happy that you decided to accept my invitation."

Shemric looked at Master Bariim and wondered what this was about. The fact that Nofa seemed quite pleased with herself could not mean good things for Shemric.

"When the Battlemaster tells me to present myself for training then I do as I am told," said Shan.

Nofa smirked. "That is not what I said at all, Satelle."

"Well, all the years since cannot erase the urge to obey that you instilled in me many years ago as a Padawan," said Shan. "I see that Shemric is here as well. Why am I not surprised? Is this for his benefit or mine?"

"Oh, I think you both are going to find this more than a little bit enlightening," said Nofa. Shan brought her battlestaff forth from among her robes and Nofa nodded in satisfaction. "My best staff student ever, you should know, Shemric. I think the two of you shall be well matched."

"I hear the two of _you_ are inventing new lightsaber forms," said Satelle.

Nofa smiled again. "You did well in sending him to me. He has personally improved the training of everyone who comes to my floor and made himself better in the process."

"Well I shall do my best not to embarrass myself then," she said smiling at Shemric and Nofa. Shemric shook his head. They both expected him to match his skills against the grand master of the Order?

When they squared off in the center of the space, the arena had nearly emptied and Nofa was perched on her stool not far away. After working through an initial warm-up, the grand master immediately rushed him in a spinning, kicking whirlwind backed by hammer-hard strokes and Force-power beyond anything he had ever tried to counter, except perhaps against Darth Malgus. He fell back initially and met her whirling staff with his two blades in a defense that was almost too fast for the eye to follow. When he hit the edge of the arena he instinctively pulled Force-strength from her attack and blasted it at her mid-leap so that she was sent flying backwards toward Nofa.

He need not have worried for the grand master's safety as she flowed through the air like she was meant to fly and landed like a dancer or maybe an acrobat at the end of a tumbling run. Nofa surprised him by executing a tremendous flying leap through the air to land in front of Shemric. " _What_ was that? In all the months you have been here you have never done anything like that. I am not even sure _what_ you did."

"I repurposed another's Force-power to my own use," he said simply as the grand master joined them. Nofa leaped up to her shoulder so that she was looking down at Shemric and he realized why she so often rode his own. From there she was looking down on him like a judge, or maybe an inventor who was trying to figure out what to do with her new toy. And then she laughed and rubbed her hands together like a child receiving a new toy. "Why have you not shown me this before?"

"It is another of those things that sets me apart from the norm, Nofa," he said and he looked up to meet her large eyes. "I have enough reasons for people not to like me or resent me without adding to the list."

"Well, that ends now, at least against Satele," said Nofa. "She was taking it easy on you for the first round but apparently," and she threw her tiny hands in the air, "she does not need to hold back."

"Do you want me to blast her with lightning while I am at it?" he asked quietly. "I can do that very easily, too."

Her large eyes narrowed as she examined him again. "No," she said shortly, with a small shake of the head. "I think that might raise too many eyebrows. Now, show me something." She leaped off Satele and ran back to hop on her stool.

"She means well for you, Shemric," said the grand master.

"I know, grand master," he said. "I just wonder what she is trying to create out of me."

"A tool," she said. "The best tool you can be."

"For what does she think I will be used, grand master?" he wondered.

She shook her head. "I cannot see that, nor can she, but I trust her instinct. And please call me Satele here. I do not need to feel any older than I already am." Nofa whistled her impatience and Satele smiled. "Even the Grand Master of the Jedi Order jumps when she says 'hop.'"

The came together again in a whirlwind of color that would have made a lovely lightshow if there was more than one spectator. Shan _was_ like a dancer, only, the steps she spun were full of purpose and power and determination. Again and again he found himself driven back to the edge of the arena by her onslaught. It was not the power-laden attack that she had first used because he was able to occasionally use that against her, but her usage became subtle and quick and he could not break through to do anything but defend.

 _Come now, Shemric. You have to want it more than that. You hated losing to me. Imagine it is me; it might work out better for you._

Shemric blinked and nearly took a saber to the face before throwing up a hasty block and leaping back forcefully. The voice in his head seemed so real. When he looked at Satele, he shifted his awareness just a hair and there was Julienne smirking at him for having gotten in a good whack. _Fine. Let us dance, Juju._

He rushed Satele and focused on his frustration and his loneliness and his true desire to just leave and find Julienne. Even his relationship with Orosan was just a replacement for what he truly wanted and he had to stay here until _she_ indicated it was time. Why was it always up to _her_ to find him?

This time, when they met, he attacked and poured all his fury into it. Oh, the grand master looked surprised for a few moments, but then she began to smile and the grand light show became even more spectacular. They stood toe to toe unmoving until he manage to connect with her left arm at the same time she swept his boots and landed him flat on his back.

She offered him a hand up and met his eyes. "What did you do there at the end? I sensed … " she stopped and stared over his shoulder for a moment, thinking, "… righteous anger, frustration, longing. Only, it fueled you instead of owning you. Is that something you have done before?"

"Julienne, she always forced me to give her the very best I had, even to the point of making me so angry that I hurt her," he said. "I did not like it but she refused to allow me to wallow in mediocrity. You had to turn the intensity all the way up if you wanted to stay ahead of her. She made me compete and face the truth that I _liked_ to compete. At the end she made me use my anger, use all those negative emotions as fuel."

Nofa approached as he was finishing up his explanation and cocked her head, listening.

"Satele, I hope you will come more often. I have seen things from Shemric today that he has not shown in six months of my training him. No one else has the skill to hone his talent."

"A few of the masters could do it," said Shan, "but the most capable are not ... happy about one so young showing so much skill. They feel threatened. Perhaps if I train with him more often, the others will come around."

"Not likely," said Nofa. "The members of the Council will wonder whose seat he wants."

"I do not want anyone's seat!" he protested.

"To have a seat on the Council you have to want one," said Shan. "It has to be an aspiration. They assume everyone wants to be there and so if you are there then you have to protect your position."

Nofa snorted and leaped up to Shemric's shoulder. "I think we should add a little more fuel to the fire. Let us go and eat some chow in the Master's hall."

Satele actually laughed out loud at that. "Fuel to the fire, indeed. Since we have never really acknowledged Shemric in the first place then it would increase speculation further."

"We are allowed guests," said Nofa. "Let them wonder why it is that we too choose to spend the time with him."

Shemric listened to the description of politics and shook his head. He felt like a rope being tugged back and forth in a tug-of-war. He did not like the sensation. They were both looking at him expectantly.

"Are you inviting me and asking if I want to be party to your machinations?" he asked. They both looked at him in amusement. He was technically still only a Knight and to have him question the reasons of the Battle- and Grand Master of the Order showed exceptional cheek. Except, of course, that they had both been encouraging him along those very lines. "I do not really follow the politics of this place, so I do not understand what you are hoping to accomplish here, but both of you have shown me far greater kindness and attention than one small Knight deserves, so I would be remiss in not offering my cooperation."

"Such a speech," laughed Nofa.

"What if we just wish to have a pleasant conversation with you over dinner?" asked Satele.

"Then it would be my pleasure," he replied and they left the arena with Nofa perched on his shoulder. He did not even know where the Master's chow hall was located, so he had to follow their lead as they made their way through the halls. Of course, such a walk with the Grand Master and Battlemaster involved a lot of greetings and polite conversation from many Jedi. Shemric began to suspect that was part of the plan as each of them noted Shemric's presence without actually acknowledging him. They eventually made it to the Master's chow and Shemric was surprised that on the surface, it looked little different than the other place to eat at headquarters, save that the seating was more comfortable. And there turned out to be a menu. When they had ordered, Satele-he was starting to think of her that way at her insistence-began the conversation in an unexpected direction.

"So you have been spending quite as much time with Knight Orosan, I have been told," she said. "I have heard she is quite an accomplished healer but they say you have been improving her fighting skills, as well."

"I think sometimes that she and I are Nofa's little experiment in new lightsaber training techniques," said Shemric. "But, we had a bit of a dispute a while back and she has been avoiding me."

"How so?" asked Satele as Nofa's eyes narrowed.

"We argued over something personal and she did not like the answers I gave her," he admitted.

"And what of the other, the experiment in training?" asked Shan

"Well, it seems to me that the Battlemaster is trying to de-regiment some of the forms and create a more free-thinking way of approaching fighting. She uses me because I have competence in so many forms and she wants to meld them into something ... different. I think she includes Orosan because she hates regimentation and is very open to the new way of thinking."

Satele raised an eyebrow and looked at Nofa. "And you thought he was such an obedient boy and would not notice what you were up to, old teacher. Apparently, he sees more than you expect."

She sniffed. "I have not tried to hide what I was doing, though he has hit upon the reasons that I chose them for the experiment. I think it is coming along quite nicely. Are you still sending Orosan on the Sertar mission."

"I am," said Satele. "She is going as a healer, but will provide security if the hospital is attacked."

Shemric started. He had heard about the Sertar mission but had clearly not been invited. And he wondered why aloud.

"Nofa tells me that you are far too valuable to the Order as her assistant than as one member of a mission haring off across the galaxy on a wild bantha chase," said the grand master.

Nofa sniffed but did not comment.

"Many important searches were nothing but wild bantha chases up until they discovered something important," said Shan.

Their food arrived and forestalled further argument between the two masters and Shemric discovered that it was much better prepared than the normal fare available to the rest of the Order. Both women smiled as he downed his meal with relish.

"I think Shemric is considering submitting a formal application for mastery now," said Nofa. "I am not sure I will support it if it makes him fat."

Satele nearly spit out her food and other masters looked askance at them.

Under her breath Nofa muttered, "I do not think that is proper decorum for a Grand Master."

"Well, maybe I will relinquish the job and let you take it," said Satele. "Then I can go chasing banthaa myself."

"Oh, that is a laser-brained idea if I ever heard one," said Nofa. "Let us put the inmates in charge of the prison. Most of the masters had a fit when you named me battlemaster. Especially the males. The proverbial flarg would hit the fan."

"We must do what we can within the constraints of the Order," said Shan.

"When did you become the flamin' philosopher?" asked Nofa.

"About the time you decided to become a teacher," said Shan.

"True enough," mumbled Nofa and went back to her meal.

"Now, dear Nofa, we invited Shemric to eat with us and we have been arguing like old hags," said Shan. "Why not tell us a story now that you are finished with your meal."

Shemric realized he had cleared his plate and the other were barely half-finished. "Uh, what kind of story?" he asked.

"Well, I want to hear more about Julienne," said Nofa. "Having an illicit Sith yum-yum has got to be exciting for a young Jedi and I don't know much more than her name."

"Does _everyone_ use that term?" Shemric complained.

"I do not believe I have ever heard it, but it does not seem too difficult to work out the context," said Shan and winked.

Shemric put his head in his hands.

"Oh, come on," said Nofa. "We are old ladies. Humor us with a little somethin'-."

Shemric was sure his face was as red as it could be. The others just giggled. They hardly seemed like masters of any order right then.

It was with great weariness that Shemric went to bed that night. He meditated for a time and fell into sleep, but did not dream as usual. He found himself sitting on a familiar beach with Julienne lying next to him in her chair

In an instant she disappeared and was standing above him. _Well, hello lover-mine. What brings you here again so soon? I did not plan this._

 _I just fell asleep at the Jedi Temple! he said. You look … foreboding, he commented._ Instantly the scene changed and they were sitting together at the peak of the island in fighting gear. _How are we here if you did not start this?_

 _It was probably a combination of proximity and timing,_ she said and removed her hood from her head _. I am in the deep core on a fact-finding mission. And I was sleeping. Are you well, Shermric?_

 _As well as can be expected without you, he said._

 _Oh, don't mope,_ she chided him _. It is not very Jedi-like._

 _Well, I am not really much of a Jedi, depending on who you ask, he pointed out. The Grand Master appointed me the Assistant Battle Master when I returned. I rarely leave the Temple anymore._

 _That sounds like a promotion, said Julienne._

 _Maybe, he said._ Shem wanted to ask a lot of questions and Julienne must have sensed it and she held up a hand.

 _I am happy to know that you are well and training, Shemric, I went to sleep exhausted and need to rest. Pulling me here will prevent that, she said._

 _Can we meet somewhere local when your mission is finished? he asked._

He had thought she would dismiss him out of hand, but she considered him for a long time. Or it seemed that way. Who could say when you were dreaming?

 _It is probably a bad idea but I will contact you this way if I can, she said. I may or may not be able._

 _That would be wonderful, he said._

 _Now go back to real sleep, Shemric, she said. This is probably not safe for either of us._

 _How so, he asked?_

 _I cannot really explain it now, she said. Just be careful._

Something happened again and the image shifted to the bungalow and they lay together in each others' arms.

 _Go to sleep, Shem, she said_ and the dream drifted away and with it the touch of Julienne's mind.


	26. Chapter 26

Waking up the next morning, Shem reflected that it had not been a normal dream and that Julienne was in the area and he might be able to see her soon. The few people he encountered noted that he seemed more contented than usual and that lasted for some time before he decided that Julienne was not going to contact him, or could not.

After seeing her, even in a dream, Shem was not prepared to just continue grinding through his daily routine. He sent a note to Nofa and Master Slocum that he would not be in that day and went to see the grand master. She was free long enough for a short conversation, but it did not go the way he had expected.

"So you are bored with your routine and want to do something different?" she asked.

He felt foolish when she put it that way, but shrugged and nodded.

"Does this have anything to do with Orosan being gone?" she asked, giving him a direct look. "You two had been spending a great deal of time together."

"Not really," he said. "It is … I do not really know."

"Oh, Shemric, you are terrible at dissembling," she said, smiling. "That means it is your Sith lady-friend." He colored and opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "Has she called you again, then?"

"No, she has not," he explained. "It was just an accidental contact. She guessed that her physical proximity combined with timing created the shared moment."

"And you want to go looking for her?"

"No," he said quickly. "She would not welcome that."

"But you miss her and you want a distraction from your normal routine." She did not phrase it as a question. Her smile was kindly but her words were jarring. "You begin to see why fostering attachments is not very conducive to feeling fulfilled as a Jedi."

He looked up in surprise. She had never taken him to task for his relationship with Julienne and when he saw her face, he realized that was not what she was doing now. She was just voicing his own inner thoughts. He said nothing.

"Well, Shemric, it seems that I do have a task you could do and I was just now pondering who I might ask to do it."

He waited. Tasks from the grand master that did not involve the Jedi Council might be concerned with internal Jedi politics, something he tried to avoid.

"We have here at the temple, a Zabrak youngling whose Master has just refused to continue to train her any longer. She has reached the age where she needs to begin her trials or she will be sent to work in some other Jedi capacity."

"And there is a reason her master discontinued his training?"

Shan smiled at him, but it was not full of humor. "This Padawan has been … difficult."

"Ahh," he said. "And I walked right into this."

The Grand Master turned to him. "I am not telling you to do this. I just think that perhaps you may be able to provide her with … mentoring and maybe a bit of discipline. I think, once properly shaped, that she will be an asset to the order. And I am not going to make this official, either, or long term. Just do it until you … well, can't do it anymore." A light on her desk started flashing. "She is here. Shall I introduce you?"

He stood and shrugged. "I can use a change."

When the door slid open, the female in question walked in and Shemric nearly groaned. It was his least favorite student, the Zabak, Sakrogi. From their first meeting, she had loathed him for the simple reason that Shemric was much better with a lightsaber. When she saw the grand master standing with Shemric, Sakrogi stopped dead and pointed.

"You want me to be his Padawan? Are you kidding?"

"So you two know each other?" said Grand Master Shan, not reacting to the disrespectful tone.

Now that he was watching closely, he saw that the grand master knew perfectly well the history between the two of them and was silently amused by the situation. Shemric gave her a scowl that was less than amused and she feigned wide-eyed innocence.

"He is the worst instructor I have had in all my years here at the Temple…" began Sakrogi.

"Meaning you can never defeat him and he embarrasses you?" said the grand master. He tone was so light that you would never have sensed the insult in her words. Sakrogi did and colored.

"A teacher is supposed to teach, not abuse you," said Sakrogi. "That is all I ever got from him."

The grand master's demeanor changed suddenly and it seemed that she loomed above the Padawan. "Padawan Sakrogi, you will not speak about Master Norm in that manner. It is not he but you, who has performed poorly during your time here. I am giving you one last chance to change my mind before I reassign you elsewhere. You may choose to be prideful and reject our efforts to teach you. That would be unfortunate."

Shem had not often seen the grand master project such a Force-enhance tongue lashing and found the sensation to be very similar to Julienne when she was in her no-nonsense command mode. For her part, Sakrogi looked thoroughly taken aback. She opened her mouth several times to complain, looked at the grand master's face and then said nothing. Shan continued to stare at her until she mumbled a quiet apology and thanks.

"You may go, Sakrogi; good luck," said Shan.

The door closed again and Shan turned to Shemric. "That is the best I can do for you, Shemric. Try not to do anything too severe to her when she inevitably annoys you."

"I will do my best, Grand Master," he said. "Thank you for taking the time to see me."

"Always a pleasure," she said, smiling.

Shemric shook his head and followed the Zabrak out into the hall. She was waiting for him and only looked slightly chagrined at having been called down in front of him.

"They must have been desperate if you are the one they picked," she said.

"Oh, I volunteered," said Shem. "Before I knew who it was." She snorted rudely. He ignored her at the moment. "So, tell me, Padawan Sakrogi, do you wish to be a Jedi?"

The question clearly surprised her. "Of course I do!"

"And what does it mean to be a Jedi?" he asked.

"We fight our enemies, obviously," she said.

"That is rather vague," he pointed out. "What about someone like Jedi Master Slocum? He rarely fights anyone. Does that mean he is not a very good Jedi?"

She was mulling over in her mind how to answer that question, so Shem hoped that she was at least using her brain. "Let us go to the library," he suggested. That clearly did not please her and so Shem decided that was what they needed to do. Jedi Master Kehull was more than happy to help him out when he asked her to tell Sakrogi about the great Jedi Masters of the past. Knowing she was an academic, he assumed she would not focus on Jedi who had been more martial in their pursuits and he was right. To her credit, Shem thought she balanced the discoverers with the warriors pretty well. By the time they finished, Sakrogi was asking questions and engaging Master Kehull in a conversation. It was more than Shem had hoped might happen.

She said nothing as they walked to lunch until they had their food and were beginning to eat. He had just followed her to the general chow hall; he had come to enjoy the food in the Master's hall but he was not going to admit that to his Padawan.

"I assume the point of all that was to get me to think about the different roles of Jedi and their contributions to the Order?" she said.

"I just wanted you to think," he said. "This constant war with the Sith has put a premium on our fighting skills but there are many things a Jedi can do." He began eating and hoped she would spend a little more time pondering his words. The nerf was tough, but the gravy was not bad and the bread was the same. He was getting soft if he was complaining about the food.

"The problem is, I am not really good at any other Jedi pursuits, except fighting," she said.

"What have you tried?" he asked.

"All the basics, but I just wasn't very good at them," she said.

"Was not very good at them or was bored with them?" he said, looking up and meeting her eyes. She scowled and then looked away.

"I was bored," she admitted.

He smiled at her admission. "How about we make a deal? I will do my best to personally sharpen up your martial skills if you will pick two areas of study on which you will concentrate."

She appeared to be mulling that idea over while she ate. Shem went back to finishing his own meal. Finally, she seemed to come to some sort of decision. "I think I would like to study with Master Kehull. She was much more interesting than my history instructor."

"Very well, I will speak with her," he said. "Any other ideas?"

"I have always thought," she continued quietly, "of becoming a Jedi Peacekeeper." She looked unsure as if admitting that somehow meant that she was not willing to fight in the war.

"A worthy desire, but that requires a great deal of study of the Republic's laws," he said. "If that is your desire then I have a few ideas. Have you ever been to Coruscant?"

Her eyes were large as she looked at him in surprise. "Only in orbit," she said.

"Well, then I think we shall be taking a field trip," he said. This idea she greeted with enthusiasm and so he arranged passage off planet to the capital. He had not been in contact with his old friend Captain Greggson for some time, but he doubted the man would pass up on some extra help.

* * *

As she was want to do, the Grand Master found him alone before their departure.

"You seem to have changed her attitude in just a few days," said the Grand Master as she fell in step with Shem the morning he was scheduled to leave. "What are you planning on Coruscant?"

"I have an old friend there whose police department will appreciate some official support," he said. "I thought I would give Sakrogi a taste of actual law enforcement down in the trenches. She has expressed the desire, to me, to be a Peacekeeper. Why not let her see if she likes it?"

"I think it is a wonderful idea," said the Grand Master. "Thank you for doing this, Shemric. She needed someone she can't bully. There is some good material there."

"Well, I have some concerns about the longevity of the arrangement, but I will do what I can with her," he said.

"May the Force be with you, Shemric," she said.

"And you, Grand Master," he said.

Coruscant seemed as busy and pointless as ever to Shemric. So many people in a hurry to get places with a 'me first' attitude that always rubbed him the wrong way. Sakrogi was constantly spinning her head about in awe at this thing or that, which was to be expected. This was one of the most populated planets in the galaxy.

Captain Greggson's name was still on the plaque out front of the same precinct headquarters where he had been a year ago when Shem had left abruptly. No one questioned a Jedi entering and so he made it most of the way through the building before anyone asked what he might need. "I just came to see the Captain, if I may."

"Did you have an appointment?" said the detective.

"I do not," he admitted.

"Well, I will give him your name … ?"

"Shemric."

"Very well," said the man.

"That one could have used a little more exercise," Sakrogi pointed out as the man walked away.

"Be nice," he said.

"I was; I did not just say that he was fat," she pointed out.

He sniffed and then folded his arms to wait. It was not very long before the captain came out looking for him and offered a warm handshake and a smile.

"I am well, sir, and you?" said Shemric. "Sir, this is my new Padawan, Sakrogi. She has expressed some interest in law enforcement and I decided Coruscant was the place to bring her. I was wondering if we might tag along in your department for a while."

Greggson smirked. "Tag along? Can you do that?"

"Not well," he admitted, "but she is a Padawan and I need to keep her from too much danger."  
"I am not a youngling anymore," Sakrogi complained.

Greggson looked her up and down. "STS can always use folks with your skills."

"What does that mean?" asked Sakrogi.

"Special Tactical Situations," explained Shem. "They are usually former soldiers who receive special training for anti-terrorism, hostage rescue, forced-entry and some sniper capabilities."

"That sounds great!" said Sakrogi.

"Then I will introduce you to Sgt. Gormon," said Greggson.

Over the following weeks, they began to train with the STS squad and occasionally go out on missions. As they learned each other's capabilities, Shem began to suggest ways in which they could be more helpful. For his part, Sgt. Gormon started thinking of them as part of the team and included them in mission planning.

Shemric was pleased with the level of maturity that Sakrogi was showing now that she was being used in a way that she found fulfilling. Her disrespect had completely disappeared and she referred to him as Master Norm without fail. It really made him wonder about the effectiveness of the Padawan system. He had not done anything particularly special, except listen and ask her what she wanted. Perhaps Shemric was over-sensitive because he had been passed over so many times by Knights who did not want to deal with "the odd one."

As Sakrogi became more capable, she was assigned increasingly more responsible duties in the STS squad and Shemric began to pull back and function more as overwatch than an active member of the squad. It was good to see that camaraderie that she was building with the other members of the team, but as it grew, Shem felt his own isolation more keenly. He was on a world with billions of beings and he was not particularly close to any of them.

Shemric jerked abruptly out of his sleep as if he had been slapped. Julienne's presence in his mind had leaped into his consciousness so abruptly that felt like she was in his room. He looked around and realized she was not, but when he focused, she was on the ceiling of his building.

 _Come to me, she said. Our time is limited._

Shemric dressed quickly and left a note for Sakrogi if she came back from her patrol that he would be away for a short time. He hoped he did not have to leave her here on Coruscant. That would not be easily forgiven once discovered.

The elevator on the way up seemed to crawl as her presence grew in his mind and in the Force. She was waiting for him on the edge of the roof looking down over the city. She did not turn when he approached, but did hold out a hand. When their fingers touched, Shem nearly swooned at the blast of affection and concern from her.

 _I have only a few hours until I must be off-world, but when I sensed you here … well, let us just say that I had to see you and leave it at that._

 _I am not going to complain,_ said Shem. It was not hard to remark that she was keeping her thoughts very tightly controlled. He was only sensing what she was sending to him; it was not a complete sharing.

 _I cannot afford that right now, she said. I have been sent on a mission that seems contrived and it worries me. It worries me for us. I may have exposed you._ Shem wondered what that meant, but for once was wise enough not to ask any questions. _We are going to jump, she said. Keep hold of my hand._ She did not wait for him to acknowledge her but stepped up and pulled him over the edge. In seconds they had accelerated to terminal velocity and were plummeting downward in a rush of wind and flapping cloaks. She steered them subtlety, this way and that to avoid aircars, buses, buildings and protrusions. _Now!_ she said suddenly and let go of his hand to whip her cloak around her almost like a parachute. They landed with a strong blast of air on a platform below the skyline and she led him quickly to a dark entrance and down a hallway where most of the lights were missing. They came to an aircar that she entered quickly and sped off with him while his ears were still buzzing from the wind of the drop.

It took about fifteen minutes before she parked at a seedy looking hotel and led him inside to a room that was surprising clean and well-furnished. She closed the curtains quickly and pulled her hood back from her face. She looked paler and more Sith-ly than ever with a black tattoo that circled her cheek and ended in a claw. His eyes must have widened when he saw it and she noticed.

 _It seemed appropriate at the time, she said. I trust you will be able to remove it when the time comes._

 _I suspect so, he said. So does that mean that you are a Sith Lord now?_

She shook her head. _Not now, she said. I do not wish to discuss any of my goings and comings. We have a few short hours. I do not wish to talk. I simply wanted to be near you for a time. To have you hold me._

What could he say to that? He took her in his arms and they lay on the bed, fully clothed and dimmed the lights. She wrapped his consciousness in hers and they faded to sleep without any further conversation.

That they ended up on their imaginary beach was not a surprise to Shem, but Julienne still said nothing and seemed content to walk the perimeter of the island hand in hand. At the end of it, she merely said, _That was lovely, thank you,_ before they faded away to normal sleep.

They awoke to the sound of an explosion that blew glass fragments into their room.

They rolled off the bed quickly to the side opposite the exterior and Julienne already had her lightsaber in hand. When the Sith marauders entered the room with their own blades lit, they were met with the whirlwind of coordinated efficiency that was Shem and Julienne when their minds were joined. As such, the fight was short and brutal and at the end the attackers were the ones who were down.

 _Sorry, she said hastily. I knew that was a possibility, but hoped they would not be able to track me. They must have paid off someone to scan all those security cameras. Well, my dear, this is a parting for us. Be very careful, as I have said before. I don't know if we will meet sooner or later, but you will know when._ She pulled him into a fierce embrace, kissed him thoroughly and then shoved him towards the door. They left the room hastily and she pushed him into the elevator without her.

He had time to shout out a quick _Goodbye,_ and then her mind was closed to him. Shem did not encounter anyone leaving the building, but he did spend the better part of two hours crossing and backtracking and looking for anyone to follow him before he keyed up his communicator to contact Sakrogi. She did not answer and he hoped that it was because she was sleeping and that nothing had happened. Shem spent extra time and care on the way back and was pleased to see that her stuff was on the counter and her room door closed.

Shem was exhausted and decided to see if he could sleep as well, but it was useless. He wanted to reach out to Julienne while she was still close but knew that she would not welcome it, so he resisted the urge and knelt down to meditate. In the depth of his Force contemplations, he felt the lightest brush of her consciousness against his. _Be well, Shemric._

After that, he slept.

* * *

With so much going on at the police precinct, Sakrogi did not even question him about his being gone. She had remarked that he was allowing her a surprising amount of freedom and he had countered by telling her that she had been showing a surprising amount of good judgment in the missions she had and had not involved herself.

"I will take that as a compliment, then," she said.

"You should," he said.

When they had been on Coruscant for more than six months, they were summoned back to Tython and a meeting with the Grand Master. Sakrogi was very nervous and kept asking Shemric if she thought this was about him or about her.

"I would imagine she may deciding to transfer you to a different Master," he said. "I have been sending regular reports and recommended some time back that you needed more specific training if you are going to continue in this path."

She groaned. "You mean legal training and investigative science."

"Well, you can't just spend all your time working with STS," he commented as they were taking a shuttle up from the surface of Coruscant. "That is only half the job if you are going to become a Peacekeeper. I took you to the city to see what some of peacekeeping is like, and to motivate you in your future studies, but no one is going to actually approve of your career choice unless you go through the other training."

She looked glum but shook her head as if she understood.

It was always a shock travelling the short distance from Coruscant to Tython as the two worlds could not have been more opposite. Sakrogi's agitation increased as they entered the temple again and reported their arrival. Soon, a master that Shem had met but with whom he had never really talked, came for them.

"There you are," he said politely. "I have been asked to interview Sakrogi about her fitness for a place among the Jedi Peacekeepers. Before I take her away, is there anything you would like to add on her behalf?"

Shemric looked between Sakrogi and Master Niemi before addressing Sakrogi. "Would you like me to tell him in front of you, or give us a moment?"

"I would prefer to know your evaluation rather than guessing what you might have said," she replied.

"Very well," he said and turned back to Master Niemi. "Sakrogi is an excellent Jedi and fulfills all the martial requirements of being a Peacekeeper. Over the last six months of working with STS on Coruscant I have trained and observed her in action. She is decisive, has learned to not be overly aggressive and is extremely gifted as a warrior. However, she does not like to study and is going to have a hard time focusing on the coursework required to become a peacekeeper. It is not that she lacks intelligence; she just lacks focus at times. When properly directed, she learns quickly, but the teacher has to be creative in keeping her attention. If she applies herself, I forecast that she will become an excellent peacekeeper."

Master Niemi nodded and looked at Sakrogi as if he was asking her if she wanted to add anything. She shrugged.

"I can't really disagree with anything Master Norm said," she replied. "I have learned a great deal in six months of on-the-job training and realize there are other studies to be undertaken."

Niemi nodded and gestured for Sakrogi to follow.

"Come find me afterwards, Sakrogi, and let me know how things go," he said quietly.

She nodded and left.

The temple was no so full yet that they had needed to give away his room, so he went back to drop off his things and then decided to go and find the battlemaster. It was a time of day where she would be on the training floor and sure enough, she was standing on her stool observing a couple of knights at work.

"And how is my favorite assistant now that he has had a six-month vacation at the capital," she said without turning.

He snorted loudly. "You think any day with Sakrogi was going to be a vacation?"

She cackled and turned to tap him with her stick on the shoulder. "I suppose not. Is all well with her?"

"I think they may take her in the Peacekeepers," he said. "I recommended her well to Master Niemi. Now she needs to buckle down and study. I think she can do it."

"Well, file that under another of your miracles," said Nofa. "No one else ever got through to her."

"She needed a different kind of teacher," he said.

"I am sure she did," said Nofa. "A teacher that would kick her in the butt when necessary."

"And listen," said Shem.

The smell of the training floor was so familiar that he felt guilty about not getting out there and sweating with the rest of the Jedi, but Shem was tired from travel and spent the afternoon talking with Nofa and helping run the floor. They shared a meal together and several masters greeted him, much to his surprise. The food was certainly better than he had been cooking himself on Coruscant.

"You should keep an eye out for Orosan," warned Nofa. "She has returned as something of a hero."

"Really?" he commented between mouthfuls. "As a healer or for her martial skills?"

"A little bit of both, apparently," said the Jawa. "There was an attack on the medical center where she was working and she fought off the enemy, cleared the area and then went back and saved several of the wounded from certain death. They gave her a commendation."

"Good for her," said Shem. "You trained her well, and Master Slocum."

"You did as much for her as I did, Shem," said Nofa. "I tell you to keep an eye out for her because she has been asking about you. Apparently she is not mad at you anymore and wants to find out where you went. She was in a bit of a huff when she heard you took an attractive female Padawan."

"I did not 'take an attractive female Padawan,'" he said in disgusted tones. "I took a headstrong, rebellious Padawan who needed a firm hand."

"Still, she is quite set up with herself these days and more forward than ever, so don't say I did not warn you," said Nofa smiling.

"I will keep that in mind," he mumbled. Orosan was going to be a problem again. Lovely.

They finished eating and Nofa asked if Shem would be back to the training floor the following day. When he agreed they parted ways and Shem tried not to act like he was sneaking about as he returned to his room. It occurred to him that changing rooms might have saved him some hassle, since Orosan knew exactly where he had been staying before.

She did not find him that day, but she was waiting for him as he left the training floor the following afternoon. At least he was sweaty and stinky, but apparently that was no deterrent because she threw herself into his arms and tried to kiss him full on the mouth. He had turned at the last moment so that it landed on the side of her face, but she did not seem perturbed at all.

"Welcome back, conquering hero," he teased.

She giggled into his ear and nibbled at it. Shemric had a feeling this was going to get out of hand fast. His backing only worked for a moment until they thumped against the back wall and he had nowhere further to go. "I don't know why you are not welcoming me home a little more enthusiastically," she said and finally released him to step back.

He noticed she had a new outfit from anything she had worn before. It looked traditional and was quite attractive. Maybe a little too much so. "Are you taller?" he asked in surprise. She was wearing a healed boot, but he did not think it was just that. "I think your horns are bigger, too."

She crossed her arms beneath her breasts and gave him a withering look. "They are called montrals, as you very well know; don't be culturally insensitive. And yes, it seems I went through a growth spurt while I was gone. None of my old clothes fit." Her tube top and short skirt were gone and replaced by a knee length battle skirt, knee-high boots and a top that was … well, it kind of covered her.

"I hear congratulations are in order," he said. "Hero of the mission to the Sertar System."

She pouted. "Who told you? I was going to tell."

"I spent an afternoon with the Battlemaster and she may have mentioned a few details," he offered. "Actually, she only said something about you saving the medical wing when they came under a surprise attack. And then saved some of the casualties."

She looked pleased with herself and launched into the play-by-play of the fight. He could only smile at her descriptions and obvious pleasure. When she wound down, she surprised him with thanks.

"No one else thinks it is seemly to tell the story," she said. "I have this feeling that they think I am not sufficiently humble."

"Well, you are not, but I always enjoy a good fight, so I do not mind," he said. "I am glad things went well for you. One can only train for so long before you start to get stale if you are not tested."

"And I hear you replaced me at the first opportunity!" she said in mock outrage. Or maybe she really was angry.

"First of all, I did not replace you," he said. "The grand master asked me to take on a Padawan and that is entirely different."

"Not just any Padawan, but an attractive Zabrak with large breasts," she said.

He rolled his eyes and tried to gauge how irritated she really was. "Sakrogi is coming along nicely after a little time on Coruscant and was actually taken on recently by a Jedi Peacekeeper who will be her permanent master. She is not even my Padawan anymore."

"Then your sidekick position is open again," she said as she sidled up to him.

He danced away quickly. "You are a Knight, Orosan and I don't have a sidekick."

"Well, you have not gone back to your Sith lover, so there is hope for the rest of us," she pointed out.

Shemric sighed. He really had no desire to mention to anyone his encounter with Julienne on Coruscant. It had been entirely too short and the parting too abrupt for his liking.

He did not need Orosan's growing physicality as a distraction right now. Or maybe she was more than a distraction. She might develop into a full-grown problem.

"Are you going to come and train with me again?" she asked.

"I'll be taking up my post as assistant battlemaster tomorrow afternoon," he pointed out.

Her pouty look told him that was not sufficient attention for her. "Come and let's eat dinner together," she suggested. "Now, _I_ finally have a few stories to tell."

He tried not to appear too reluctant as he agreed, but said he was off to clean up first. That was a mistake as she offered to join him and he had to politely decline. She only gave him a predatory smile and then made him promise to meet her in thirty minutes. She was going to be a problem; that was certain.

Dinner turned out to be surprisingly pleasant as she regaled him with stories from her mission and all the things she had seen and done. He had only heard rumors, so he was surprised to learn that they had actually been exploring in the Unknown Regions of the Deep Core. With no Hyperspace lanes and limited navigation information it had involved a lot of sub-light travel and mini-jumps to get anywhere. The end result had been the discovery of a resource-rich world that had been the province and haven of pirates and other outlaw types who sought refuge from Republic justice. A number of pitched battles had been fought by the undermanned mission thus leading to Orosan's heroics.

To his relief, she parted ways with him without fanfare and wished him a good night. He wondered what nefarious plan she was cooking up but gladly went to sleep alone and exhausted.

Sakrogi found him the next morning after he had checked in with Master Slocum and they walked for a bit while she outlined her new training regime. She was beginning the Peacekeeper training later than most, but Master Niemi had been happy with their interview and her responses and so had agreed to take her into the program.

"I will still be coming to afternoon training with the battlemaster, so hopefully you can continue to train me," she said.

"There are many others now and you are further along than most of them," he pointed out. When she looked disappointed, he promised he would find her a worthy opponent. He smiled inwardly as he imagined Sakrogi and Orosan clashing on the training floor. Let someone else sweat buckets instead of him.

"Master Norm, I … I need to thank you and apologize," said Sakrogi suddenly. They had stopped at a viewpoint that looked out of the temple and had a bit of privacy.

"For what?" he asked in surprise. "You have been an excellent student these past months. It has been a pleasure to train you."

"I know, but I said many things… " she stopped. "I was very disrespectful in the beginning and I have never apologized for it. I lacked maturity and was very headstrong. I appreciate that you had the patience and foresight to guide me where I might be happy. You could have easily given up."

"Persisting through the early days with you is hardly the worst time I have had in my life," he said smiling. "You needed to find your boundaries. I just pointed them out."

"No one else had the wisdom to show me," she said.

"No one else had the martial skills to humble you," he corrected. "Finding humility was the first step on your journey. Someone with your battle skill that lacks humility becomes a tyrant."

"More wisdom from a master," she teased.

He returned her smile. "It has been a pleasure at times, Sakrogi. Just not all the time."

"Thank you again, master," she said and surprised him with a kiss on the cheek before quickly striding off. He admired her retreating backside and was glad she had not pressed him for more, as Orosan did. The last think he needed was another female warrior seeking his affection.

His promise to Sakrogi was fulfilled that very afternoon as Orosan arrived to train within a few minutes of his former Padawan. Nofa let out a wheezing laugh and purposely vacated herself to leave him in his own mire. Fortunately, Shem had already given it some thought and he immediately set them to sparring against each other. As he had suspected, they both attempted to show off and the result was an intense session of back and forth sparring that would have been hard to duplicate outside of actual combat.

In truth, they were quite evenly matched. Sakrogi was younger, but equal in size and she had just finished six months of one-on-one training with Shemric. Orosan was a bit more skilled and now had real-world experience at fighting enemies who wanted to kill you. Both were overly aggressive and could have used a dose of Sorensu humility to tone them down, but he watched them with amusement and gratitude that it was not him out there sweating. They were both very athletic and combined Ataru and Makashi to good affect against each other. As he had hoped, they were evenly matched enough that they both won a similar number of bouts if they did not end in a draw.

When he finally called a halt, they both looked exhausted and displeased that they had not prevailed over the other. With both of them there, he did not have to give special attention to either and after evaluating their work, he sent them off without giving either a change to corner him. When Nofa sauntered over to leap up on his shoulder, she complimented him on his handling of the women.

"You truly deserve your title of Master if you can mediate a conflict between those two she-cats and come out unscratched," she observed.

"Thank you, battlemaster; I appreciate the compliment," he said. "I spent more than a bit of time last night wondering how I was going to resolve those two. I am sure they will both give me an earful later, if they can find me."

"You can always sleep on my floor if you want to hide," she said and then cackled at her own humor.

"I will take you up on that if you really mean it," he said.

She only laughed more loudly and told him to start walking about the training floor. "I would tell you something a wise man said to me long ago about how to deal with two pretty women, but you might not be amused. Not when you have three that are chasing you about."

He grunted. The one he wanted was off being a Sith Lord and he knew he would not like knowing what that meant. The other two would have been wonderful friends if they did not seem to want to be more.

Shemric spent most of the evening with the battlemaster but none of it had to do with training or the Order. He actually ended up telling her stories from his youth and camping with his family. The battlemaster had fought in many conflicts but rarely liked to speak of them. She much preferred hearing stories of family and normal life.

"We give up many things when we agree to this life, Shemric," said Nofa. "Don't be surprised that some of us miss them."

"Well you look rather grim this morning, Master Norm," said the Grand Master at breakfast. Shem had not seen Master Shan in some time and he was surprised when she greeted him at breakfast. As far as he knew, she often had something simple to eat delivered to her room. Too often she spent public meals listening to the other Masters who wished to pass on ideas beyond the scope of regular council meetings.

"I have been sleeping rather poorly of late, grand master," he said. "My dreams are troubling."

"Just regular dreams, or do you think the Living Force is trying to tell you something?" she asked as she sat across from him.

"I have never been particularly adept at Force visions," he said. "Maybe that is the problem—lack of interpretation skills."

"Perhaps," she said and continued eating.

Shemric wondered if this was a chance meeting or if she had sensed his unease. With Shan one never could quite know what she knew. He knew if she wished to say something, she would get to it eventually. They both finished without further words and then she looked up and gave him a warm smile. "Shemric, I have been feeling over the past few weeks that a change was ahead for you and that you would need to be free to follow what comes. As such, I have created a phantom position for you that will allow you to come and go as you wish, without anyone wondering what you are doing. I don't understand it all, but I suspect it has to do with your Sith lady."

Shemric nodded grimly and thanked her. If the grand master was having premonition about it, he suspected the galaxy was about to dump him back into the fray.


	27. Chapter 27

**3644—Nar Kreeta**

Shemric landed on the stone building's roof as quietly as possible. The paraglider definitely helped to reduce his Force footprint when landing if anyone was paying attention and he left the glider in a dark corner where it would not be seen. It would have been nice to have a map of the building but bribes to the right parties did not turn up anything so he was just going to have to feel his way around until he was close. He had tried to contact Julienne a couple of times, but while he could still sense her presence, she had not answered or been able to answer.

Shemric suspected that they were going to need to fight their way out afterward, so he really did not want to spend a lot of energy running around before he found her. When he had traversed the roof to a location where he was roughly above her, he began to encounter guards. They were reasonably alert, but dressed all in nighttime black, he was difficult to see and he used the Force to lighten his footfalls. The pirate guards never turned around and never reported anything.

When he found a balcony that was empty and dark, he leaped down to it and entered the fortress through what turned out to be someone's room. It was fairly spacious and he had sensed two beings inside, but neither stirred as he ghosted through their room and out the front door. The hallways were darkly lit, but it seemed bright compared to the lightless night he had just left, and it took him a moment to adjust his sight. He continued to stride lightly down the hallways, working himself deeper into the complex and keeping to the shadows whenever possible. The only things out at this time of night were the guards and they were not always awake.

It took some time, but eventually he found himself outside a cell that he was sure contained Julienne. The lock was big and primitive, so it yield to his Force-manipulation easily if not exactly quietly. He slipped inside and closed the door behind him. There was a window, it turned out, two in fact, but both were too small for a human to fit. Not without burning a hole in the wall. It was quite dark and she appeared to be sleeping or unconscious. She did not move when he touched her and a more thorough examination showed she was a physical wreck. She had fractures in her right leg and her right wrist plus some damage to the orbital bones around her eyes. She had likely been beaten unconscious.

Shemric's anger spiked and instead of pushing it down he fed it and then used it to surge throughout her body to begin to repair the worst of the damage. He never remembered every being able to heal while angry, but it seemed like the easiest thing he had ever done. She gasped several times. He slowed and took extra caution as he worked on the bone around her eye. He idly wished that he _could_ have brought Orosan with him. She was better at this, but after more detailed study with Master Slocam, he was good enough. When he had finished, she finally came fully awake. With her return to consciousness and their physical proximity, it was the easiest thing to mesh consciousness again.

 _Well, it took you long enough to find me_.

It was not the words of a damsel in distress at all and for just a split-second he was irritated. How many parsecs had he crossed to find her there?

 _Well, your call was a little fuzzy; I sort of had to fill in the details_ , he said as he felt at her restraints. They were old fashioned chains and metal but the locking mechanism was very high tech. On further analysis, the chains looked normal, but a deeper look made him think they were some sort of complex alloy.

"Can we get these things off?" She shook her wrists.

Again with the insistence on moving along without any thanks.

 _I would be more excited to see you if you had not ignored my warning and come for me,_ she said _. This was a trap and you came anyway._

That snapped him out of his reverie. "What?"

She snapped her fingers in front of him. _Focus on me_ , she said. _My 'Master'_ and she formed those words with a great deal of cynicism, _sent me on a sham mission in order to get me caught and bring you to me._

 _And why do they want me, he asked?_ It was an easy guess to know who had started this situation; Darth Acina had known about Shemric and Juju since their last meeting.

 _Someone wants you dead, apparently_ ," she said. _I suspect that is my fault_. She touched his face tenderly but she felt regretful. _I am sorry you got pulled into this problem. I tried to close down my mind when I realized what they were doing, but torture seriously hampers your ability to control it. Now the only way I am getting me out of here is over your shoulder and that is going to seriously hamper your fighting ability._

Shemric sniffed. "My dear, you underestimate my power." His delivery was so pompous that he thought she might laugh, but she did not react at all. _Watch and learn, my dear Juju. I have already healed your broken leg and you are going to walk out of here. I did as much for your wrist as I could. I hope you are going to be of use in a fight._

"What are you…?" she began and he put a finger over her lips. It was all very odd, having this conversation in the pitch dark of her cell. He was about to heal a few of her bruises when she interrupted him. "Enough, Shemric! I can deal with the rest. " She was already flexing her hands in satisfaction and he reluctantly let her go.

"Well then, someone has been busy learning new tricks," she said.

"I could not spend all my time pining after my lost love," he said and she laughed.

When she did not react, he wondered if there was still something wrong with her.

 _I hope you brought me a weapon, she said. I have some payback to deliver._

Shemric could only shake his head. She was incorrigible, but he already knew that and came anyway. Why would he have possibly thought she would swoon at his feet in gratitude? Swooning was just not in her nature. So he just reached into his pack and passed across a blade he had made especially for her when he had decided to come. He sensed her mood improve when she caressed the grip affectionately. _Like it was made for my hand_ , she mumbled. When she flicked the igniter, the cell was suddenly lit by an eerie silver light. She took put her hand awkwardly on his arm. _Thank you_ , she said. She spoke it quietly, but it eased all the tension in his body and he felt a flood of assurance go into him.

With twin showers of sparks, she flicked the saber and cut through the bonds on her hands and feet and stood up. _This place is pretty low-tech and they do not have a camera on me, so I have tried to keep my muscles in shape as best I could here, but I am going to get winded walking up stairs. You are going to have to do the heavy lifting on this escape._

He nodded. He had suspected as much from the dreams and had come prepared. When he stood, he reached for the wall and took a minute to steady himself. He had done a lot of work healing her and was already a little tired.

 _I wish you had not healed a few of those bruises, she said._

 _I barely touched the bruising, he said. You should have fewer headaches now._

She hesitated in surprise. _Did you fix my brain?_

 _Just your skull; it turns out even yours was not thick enough to keep from cracking after repeated abuse, he smiled. Fixing your skull relieved pressure on your brain. Almost like what happened back on Balmorra and Zeltron both, except I am much more skilled now. You should think about wearing a helmet._

 _They don't give you a helmet during torture, she pointed out. Well, that is going to be nice, she said. I have been having horrible headaches—when I was still conscious. Let us leave. I have spent enough time in this miserable place._

 _One more thing first, he said,_ and reached for her lightsaber. He ignited it and then held it in front of her. _Twist like so,_ he demonstrated. The meter-long silver blade extended by another quarter of its length.

 _Nice. And how did you know I have been practicing with variable length blades?_

He chuckled quietly to himself for a moment. There were always coincidences when you spent a lot of time meditating in a Force-trance. _I did not. I take it you can use this to good effect._

 _We shall see,_ was all she said but he could sense her satisfaction.

Shemric's plan had been to sneak in and sneak out. He was very good at that. A few minutes later, though, she burst his bubble. _It is not going to work, Shemric. Darth Gravil is here and he is going to find us one way or another. Let us not lead him to your getaway vehicle._

 _I do not really have a getaway vehicle. I was thinking we would steal one._ They were waiting in the darkness of a small alcove as two guards passed.

 _He will probably be waiting in the hangar anyway,_ she said.

 _Anything I should know about him, Shem asked?_

 _He is very dangerous, she said. He is a blademaster, but he is also quite skilled at tossing things at you in the middle of the fight. He barely has to think about it. Expect lightning._

 _Okay, I have fought that type before, he said._

 _And he may have brought some cronies, she said. Not Sith Lords, but soldiers and apprentices with some Force powers and lightsabers._

Shemric gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. _That is not really good news, he said. For them. I have not been idle in other ways while you were gone. We will be fine. Lead the way and we will play this out._

She nodded grimly and took the lead through the meandering corridors. They ended up in the vast hanger that the smuggler/pirates used to house their stolen ships and their own pirate fleet. Shemric could feel the Sith Lord long before he saw him walk out of the shadow of one of the ships.

"Well, it appears you can deliver on your promises after all, Julienne," said the man Shemric assumed was Darth Gravil. He felt much like the other Sith that Shemric had fought over the years. Each one had exuded arrogance and ego. None besides Malgus had felt as solid in the Force as this man, nor as far gone along the road to the Dark Side. He fairly reeked of decay and degradation. "Please explain why you did not just kill him and bring me the body."

"Was that your orders, _Lord Gravil_?" she said and twisted the last word with mockery. "I seem to remember coming here for a different mission."

"You came here at my convenience!" barked the man, "and you will die at my convenience as well."

"What possible reason could you have for luring me here?" interjected Shem.

The monster smirked. "Who can say? The Emperor commands and I obey."

Shemric could sense Julienne's surprise. She had only suspected the source of the conspiracy or why she had been ordered here.

 _There are deep waters here, Shemric; I am even sorrier you came, now._ Shemric was not sure if she whispered them or he heard them in his mind.

"The Emperor wants you dead, little Jedi, so dead you shall become," said the Sith. Shemric could not suppress a shiver. His chances were not trending toward longevity with the leader of an entire empire trying to make sure he was dead.

The Sith Lord flicked his hand and several others stepped out from the shadows. Shemric thought there might be six of them.

 _Let me deal with them,_ said Shemric. _Warn me if Big-Ugly there intervenes_. He stepped forward and reached for both of his sabers. The first berserker charged him without waiting for the others and opened with an awkward overhead swing that surely would have cleaved him down the middle had Shemric not moved. He smashed the man's face with one fist and twisted back to ram his other blade into the Sith's heart.

Shemric shoved him with a boot in the chest so that he fell back flailing into the next attacker. They both went down in a heap and Shemric dispatched the second man quickly. He could sense that the Sith Lord frowned then, and the other four came on more cautiously. They clearly did not take Julienne as a serious threat which Shemric was sure would hasten their demise. When they charged him simultaneously, he knocked aside one blade, spun and slashed the wrist of a second before catching the red glow of a third on his blade, which showered the surprised Sith with sparks.

That one shrank back from the sparking and combined with a kick in the stomach he staggered backwards towards Julienne, where he ended up skewered on the end of her silver saber that she ignited at the last moment. That caused the others to regard the area around Julienne more cautiously and Shemric used that to his advantage. The remaining three now circled quite slowly and attacked in a more concerted fashion. It was all Shemric could do to keep their blades away from him and he was glad he had worn the light recon armor under his robes. The fight turned again when Shemric was able isolate one from the other two and knock his weapon aside before ending him with a quick thrust to the torso. At that instant, he heard a distinct, _Watch out!_ and felt a burst of Darkside lightning coming his way. He caught it and held it an instant before he sent it forth into his two attackers. Both Sith fighters jerked in surprise and staggered backwards to be ended quickly by Julienne.

Shemric turned to face the Sith Lord who was regarding him with something between anger and curiosity.

"I have never seen anyone do that before, boy," said Gravil. "That is quite a trick." His voice sounded unsure though. If you cannot throw lightning at a Jedi then it makes the fight a bit more complicated. Shemric could see some of that indecision in his eyes before they hardened and he brought forth his red Sith blade. "It does not matter. I will still stomp you like a Nisht rat." Shemric had no idea what that was, but quickly put away one of his blades. He could feel Julienne fanning out to one side to place the Sith between them, but their opponent ignored her for now and attacked Shemric with great sweeping blows like a man intent on beating him into submission. It was a violent, powerful version of Djem So, that was easily countered in the tranquility of Sorensu.

When Julienne attacked him again from behind, he twisted and tried to blast her off her feet. She caught the lightning on her blade and Shemric attacked Gravil and drove him back again. The man tried to kick him in the knee, but Shemric dodged it and got in a burn on the man's thigh that brought forth a sharp hiss. Gravil let out a lightning filled Force that knocked Shem and Julienne off their feet. Shemric took in some of the power from the shove and then pushed back with far more force than he could have managed on his own.

Those horrible Sith eyes widened in real surprise and he was knocked back towards a recovering Julienne. She was nearly as surprised as he was but managed to come to her feet and aim a sharp thrust at him. The Sith Lord caught his balance and swung wildly to block her. She came in under his arm but missed a killing stroke and punched a hole in his side. The Sith managed to block her next stroke and then blasted her away from him so that she flew through the air to hit a wall and crumple in a heap.

Shemric sprinted toward him and the Sith turned and blasted the Jedi without thinking. The lightning was so strong Shemric's hair raised on end and he could not contain it; he pointed a single finger back at the Sith and the line of pure light and energy should have punched a hole right through the older warrior. Instead the man threw up a hand and blocked it, but was knocked off his feet by the impact on his Force-shield. Again Shemric tried to close the gap and he felt the man's fear of death rear up in a huge dark cloud; the Sith used it to struggle to his feet and fight back.

Shemric had his second blade in his hand and he attacked relentlessly and pounded stroke after stroke on the man's defense. He could feel the Sith's strength fade but Shemric was nearly spent himself, so he pulled more of the man's hate and fear and fed it into his attack. He took the man's blade hand off at the wrist and then pounced, but was taken off guard when the Sith reached out a hand to grab Shemric in an invisible grip on his throat. He hurled his saber but the Sith managed to knock it aside. Shemric tried to absorb the Force power, but lack of air did not help his concentration and the edges of his vision began to blacken. His attempt to throw his wrist knife was weak and did not even reach halfway across the distance between them. He fell to his knees and had to endure the cruel look in the man's yellow-red eyes as his vision turned to black.

A smile began to form on the Sith's face as Shemric fell on his side, but it was immediately replaced with shock as a silver blade erupted out of its chest. The grip on his throat ceased and Shemric pulled in great gulps of air while staring across at the lifeless gaze of the once-mighty Sith Lord, now lying on his side, staring.

 _I have been waiting a long time for that_ , said Julienne as she reached out a hand to help him to his feet.

 _I thought you were unconscious and I was dead_ , he said and then he gripped her in a crushing hug. She patted his back awkwardly as he sobbed into her shoulder. _I could not breathe; I could not make my body do anything. Thank you. Thank you..._

 _Come on, Shemric, you are freaking me out; get a grip on yourself_ , said Julienne holding him at arm's length. _We survived. Now we need to move and moan and groan later._ He nodded and she hobbled off in the direction of one of the pirate ships. Apparently they had cleared the hangar for the Sith to do their work, but that left their own ships exposed.

The pirates seemed to have realized the same thing because a few moments later, shouts erupted out of the end of the hangar opposite from which Shemric and Julienne had entered.

 _Take the belly turret gun!_ They entered one vessel and she shoved him in the opposite direction. He found the down ladder well and settled into the gunner's position with a groan. Moments later the lights at his station lit up and he took the grips and began to shift about looking for targets. The pirates seemed to be struggling with whether they ought to blast their own ship or try and take it back. Remembering the bruises covering Julienne, his mercy disappeared and he opened up on the hapless pirates until he had cut down anything that moved. The engines were firing up when the voice in his head was back. _We need to take out the hangar doors._

Shemric swung around and opened up on the doors but it did little more than leave scorch marks on the massive alloy barriers that were preventing their escape. _Not with these guns. We got anything bigger?_ The craft lifted off and swung about. _Release the manual controls! I am slaving them all to cockpit control! she cried._ Shemric found the necessary button to switch control back just in time for her to open up with both gun batteries and the forward guns. The combined firepower caused a glowing hot spot to appear at the seam between the doors. Apparently someone decided at that point that opening the doors was the lesser of two evils as they lurched open and began to widen. They blasted through at the earliest possible moment and Julienne had them in a steep climb when the ship was rocked by cannon fire.

 _It seems they want payback_ , thought Shemric.

They _want payback_... replied Julienne. _You have fire control back. Stay with me_. It had been years, but their merged consciousness snapped quickly into focus. He was looking out of her eyes and his own eyes at the same time. It was very weird but they had perfected it against Darth Malgus and now it made them move like one brain with many hands. They held off the pirate ships despite the odds until more than a dozen had been destroyed and the rest fled back to their base. Whether he whooped or she did, he was not sure, but it felt like one in the same.

He sat in the gunnery chair with his eyes closed as they cleared the planet's gravity well ; he had no idea where she was taking them and he did not care. When he felt the familiar tug of hyperspace transition he dragged himself up the ladder and forward to the cockpit where she was sitting in the pilot's chair leaning back with her eyes closed.

 _We survived again,_ he said.

 _We are very good at that,_ she replied _. This time was my fault_ , she said quietly without opening her eyes.

 _I find it a little alarming that the Sith Emperor knows who I am,_ he said.

 _You should; he is … I am not sure how to describe him_ , she said opening her eyes and looking into his. _He feels like all the evil in the galaxy concentrated into one being_.

 _Evil? Why should that concern a Sith Lord_ , he asked lightly.

 _It should concern everyone!_ she came back sharply. _He is insane. He has been alive for more than a millennium. Why does not anyone else find that ridiculous?_

 _No one can live that long_ , said Shemric.

She shook her head. _You cannot understand it unless you were to meet him. It was horrible. I suspect he pulled something out of my mind that makes him think you are a threat. There are rumors, she said. They talk about the Emperor coming from a world that no longer exists. He devoured it in some sort of Force ritual. Whatever happened there, well, it could not have been good, but the implication was that it gave the man near God-like power_.

Shemric thought on the idea of one man harnessing so much of the Force. The Jedi certainly did not understand the extent of what could be done with Darkside rituals. And Julienne was not one to be given to flights of fancy.

 _I had heard too many stories of people that just disappeared when they started asking questions about the Emperor, so I did not look into it any further, but now I fear we may both be marked._

 _We have a habit of surviving against other Sith Lords,_ he said.

 _This is not like the others, she said. If I could show you then you would understand._

He reached a hand across the cockpit and took hers. _Show me then,_ he said. He opened himself to her tried to deepen the hastily-reforged link they were sharing.

 _I am not sure I want to do that, she said. Shem …_ Julienne shook her head as if she could not or did not want to explain. She did not release his hand, though and he felt her enter into his mind more fully than they had been joined before. She was not showing him, she was _taking_ him with her.

 _Julienne approached her master with much more confidence than ever before. She had learned a great deal on this mission and despite losing the … comfort of Shemric's presence, he had still taught her much on this trip and honed her edge to its sharpest. Of course, her master could decide she did not like how things had gone and crush her under a heel, but that had been the case every day since she had been taken on after Darth Fright._

 _"_ _You look well-rested my young apprentice," said Acina. There was an edge of humor in her voice that could be deadly if it went the wrong way. "You took me at my word when I told you to take your Jedi boy-toy on a vacation."_

 _"_ _We were training, Master, and I think it was quite effective," said Julienne. "Someone moved against us before we left though. Someone who had the resources to track us." This was not going at all as she had imagined. Removing Malgus from the board ought to have at least warranted some sort of congratulation._

 _"_ _We have enemies, though you did give them the slip for a while on Balmorra," said Acina. "You made quite a mess back on Zeltros," said Acina. Her tone was neutral and Julienne was not sure if she was angry or pleased. "Lord Batron himself looked like he had been incinerated with lightning."_

 _"_ _More or less," said Julienne._

 _"_ _And the rest had been put through the meat grinder," said Acina. "You have become very formidable, my apprentice. Acina smiled then; it was a hideous thing and nearly made Julienne cringe. Spending too much time with Shemric had always made her too aware of the depravity of the Dark Council and those who aspired to gain a seat. They were deeply steeped in Darkside power and it radiated from them almost like heat from a furnace. "You have done well. Killing Malgus has gained you a great deal of esteem in the Council, even if you had help. None of the others thought you would survive. They simply thought to reduce my power by taking away a useful tool."_

 _Julienne wondered if Acina herself had thought she would survive. She certainly would not have done so without Shemric but her master had expected her to bring him. Plots within plots._

 _"_ _As such I have been authorized to present you for ascension," said Acina. "You will be also be honored to meet the Emperor." A thrill of fear and anticipation ran through Julienne as she contemplated how things would change. Not all new Sith Lords met him, so this was supposed to be a great tribute to her work. She wished that Shemric could be there to see her achieve her goal, finally. The irony of that thought nearly caused her to smile, but she kept it to herself._

 _An interesting side effect of her deep and continuous contact with Shemric manifested itself then; before, she had always had to work hard to conceal her thoughts from Acina; now it seemed as if she could almost sense some of what Acina was thinking while keeping back her own plans without effort. Her master had plans for her and she was hoping that Julienne would remain in her service. They were vague impressions, but she thought they read true._

 _There was not really any formality or ceremony for ascension; when you were selected you chose a new name or your master did it for you._

 _"_ _What shall we call you," asked Acina?_

 _"_ _Darth Monikas."_

 _"_ _Is that name significant for some reason," asked Acina?_

 _"_ _I have used it before when you have sent me out," said Julienne._

 _Her master nodded. "Then you shall be Darth Monikas."_

Shemric felt himself spinning, being thrust forward in time until they outside a great monolithic stone building that looked like a fortress. The feel of the place made his skin crawl just a bit.

 _"_ _When you are presented," said Acina, "you will bow low and speak when he asks you questions."_

 _Julienne was suddenly conscious of … something, that permeated the entire structure with a fowl stench that was more mental than physical. She wanted to ask if it always felt that way, but she doubted her master… her former master would notice._

 _"_ _As soon as the session is over, you will be besieged by the others who wish to employ you," said Acina. "You can tell them yourselves what you plan to do or I can let them know when you are introduced. The latter is considered a sign of weakness generally, but avoids the unpleasant task of having to turn them all down when they request your services. I do not mean the end of the actual meeting, but you will be invited to their estates over the coming days. Not all will want you, but certainly Ravage from Expansion and Diplomacy, Zhorrid from Imperial Intel and perhaps Decimus from Military Strategy will all make a play. They have the most to gain from your skills. Mekhis has been over Technology for some time, but I do not believe he would use you well; outside of Zhorrid, most will want to break you away from me."_

 _They had discussed this before and it made Julienne wonder why she was rambling. Perhaps she was equally nervous. Did she expect to supplant someone on the Council today? Mekhis was Acina's sponsor and he would benefit from her elevation, if only by extension of his association with her former master._

 _Passing the heavily guarded entrance did not make Julienne feel any better. It was a fortress in truth. It would take an army to break in. Lightning arced in the sky and she suppressed at cringe. Again she wondered how wise it was to spend a month on a pleasure planet with Shemric. Coming back to Dromund Kaas reminded her that it was a different, poisoned, dangerous world._

 _The Council Chamber itself was massive, as were the huge thrones each occupied by a council member. They took up a position near the throne of Darth Mekhis and stood waiting. When all twelve of the council were assembled, they began the proceedings and began to discuss the various plots and things that needed to be coordinated among the different spheres._

 _It became immediately apparent why having a place near a council member was so clearly advantageous; just listening in on meetings would give a person a wealth of valuable information. The wealth of the Council members grew from their inside knowledge of the workings of the Empire and they used it for their own aggrandizement. The knowledge that they enriched themselves at the expense of others was another brick in the wall she had built between herself and her loyalty to the Empire. It soured any feeling of accomplishment that came from her ascension._

 _Finally, when many matter had been discussed the atmosphere of the room changed and an enormous image of a middle-aged man appeared in the middle of the chamber. Julienne felt like she could not breathe._ Something _was pressing down on her; it was not a physical sensation but it was so overpowering that she went down to the ground on all fours. That sensation felt like it was rummaging through her very being and seeing and taking away what it wanted. She wondered if this was how rape victims felt as their soul was damaged by the acts perpetrated on them. She felt disgusted but pulled herself together and held her Force-awareness close to her being like a blanket when one wrapped up from the cold._

 _MY COUNCIL, came a voice and she was not sure if it was physical sound waves or in her mind. It was invasive and she pulled back from it. YOUR WORKS PLEASE ME. HAVE YOU NEW INFORMATION FOR ME TODAY?_

 _Julienne sensed Darth Mekhis stand and put himself forward._

 _"_ _Great Master, I bring word of the demise of one who has been useful in the past, but had become troublesome," said Mekhis. Acina had described how this would go. As her patron, he would claim some credit in the plot, but how much credit he claimed would depend on how strong his position was with Acina. If he took too much credit then it would weaken her desire to help in the future. "Darth Acina engineered a plot to bring about the downfall of Darth Malgus who has consistently defied the will of this council. I will let her describe her actions." That was a surprise. Yielding the floor so soon indicated Acina had been operating very independently, perhaps with minimum guidance from Mehkis._

 _Julienne saw Acina start and then rise and move to stand next to Mekhis._

 _"_ _Great Master, it came to my awareness that Malgus had taken his forces into the Unknown Regions and was conquering worlds there, perhaps to acquire power to challenge the Empire. I sent my apprentice to investigate and bring back information. She discovered him in the process of subduing a resource-rich world on the very outer rim of the galaxy. He had begun to construct factories and to mine the resources to create his own fleet._

 _AND NO ONE THOUGHT TO INFORM ME OF THIS PRIOR TO NOW, came the voice and the displeasure was palpable._

 _"_ _Emperor, it seemed better to act before reporting on speculation," said Acina quickly. "I sent my apprentice in to disrupt his activities. The intent was to provoke a confrontation with Malgus and kill him without destroying his war apparatus that he was building._

 _There was silence for a time. THIS SEEMS TO BE WISE. I ASSUME MALGUS WAS KILLED, THEN?_

 _"_ _Yes, Great Master, my apprentice and her accomplices were able to draw him out and defeat him," said Acina._

 _YOUR APPRENTICE DEFEATED DARTH MALGUS? THAT SEEMS UNLIKELY. FOR ALL HIS LACK OF SUBTLEY, HE WAS VERY POWERFUL._

 _"_ _As you say, Great Master, but she has grown very strong and we created the conditions that would isolate Malgus. She and an accomplice were able to slay him because he sought them out alone."_

 _LET HER STAND FORTH. WELCOME DARTH MONIKAS._

 _Julienne had never been so sure of her eminent demise than at that moment. Something deep inside warned her that she had to protect her connection to Shemric lest something be discovered that would cause her to be snuffed out. Somehow, she stood and spoke out._

 _"_ _Thank you, Great Master, I live to serve the Empire," said said._

 _Silence. That feeling of having her memories sifted began again and she shrank back from it. She held herself close and focused solely on the tile marble tile in front of her. She was so focused that she started when the voice came again._

 _HOW WAS THIS THING DONE, THEN, DARTH MONIKAS?_

 _Julienne had prepared her story well and she wished she were a better deceiver. "I have on several occasions, suborned the loyalty of a Jedi to further the plans of the Empire. We have worked well together and between us, we were able to defeat Malgus. It was a near thing." She had decided that self-effacing would be best._

 _MALGUS OFTEN DEFEATED JEDI, SOMETIMES MORE THAN ONE. DEFEATING HIM WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFICULT. Silence. Interminable silence. Julienne knew this was the moment, one way or another. Finally…_

 _I FIND YOU WORTHY, DARTH MONIKAS. WOULD THAT YOU HAD BROUGHT THIS JEDI WITH YOU. HE MIGHT MAKE A FINE SERVANT._

 _Julienne withdrew quickly. She sensed the amusement of the other attendees and decided she did not care if they took it for fear. She was not so sure she was not more terrified than she had ever been. Having the Emperor riddle through her personal memories and who knows what else had been the most unpleasant experience of her life. He was … wrong. Such a being should not exist. All the rumors of his power and corruption seemed to pale next to the casual malevolence of standing in his presence. She wanted to bathe._

 _Julienne remembered almost nothing of the remainder of the meeting and was more than happy to leave when they adjourned. Before they had even left the fortress, she was approached by Darth Zhorrid…_

Shemric came back to himself and blinked several times. It had been so real and so terrifying. "That was … unpleasant."

She snorted. "Imagine being there in person. I tried to keep back as much as possible, but clearly he now considers you a threat, and he probably sifted it out of my memories."

"Well, it is done," he said. "Where are we going now?" he asked.

"Nar Shaddaa," she said.

"Really?" he said. "That is not exactly a safe place for a Jedi last time I checked."

"So do not be a Jedi there," she said. "You can be a Sith Lord's evil minion." She said it so dramatically that he had to laugh. She did not return his smile and let go of his hand. "You got along well enough on Balmorra without resorting to a lightsaber."

"I do not go anywhere anymore without a lightsaber," he said. "You forgot about my little trick." He held out his hand. In less than a second he had brought all the pieces of his lightsaber together and lit the saber so that a silvery beam painted a soft glow about the cockpit.

"Now that has always been handy," she said. "I can take mine apart and put it back together, but not like that."

"Practice and an affinity for the particular materials in this one," he said. "I created and number each piece in my head. It is like any other skill; do it often enough and you can do it quickly."

"Well, that ought to be a last resort, even so," she said. "At least we will not have to solely rely on conventional weapons." She yawned. "I need to sleep and recover." There was an awkwardness between them as they began to explore the ship. He could sense something in her was holding back from him.

"And why are we going to Hutt Space, again?" he asked as they wandered through the ship.

"To sell this thing," she said. "We may as well profit from all the trouble we had."

"I do not really need the money," he pointed out.

"I knew that; you Jedi and all your vows of poverty," she said. There was no mocking edge to her voice. She seemed to have lost all her humor. "I have a feeling I am going to need the money for bribes."

She pointed out one of the ships 'freshers but did not offer to join him. He emerged feeling clean, sanitized and nearly human again. When he went looking for Julienne, she was already curled up on a small bunk with no room for him to join her. He took a bunk on the opposite side of the cabin and had never felt so alone.

Nar Shaddaa looked like a house that had been passed down through several generations without ever being maintained. If you sort of blurred your vision and used your imagination you could see the great, towering vistas of its former brightness and glory, but now it looked like most of the light bulbs were burned out and the residents had no money to replace them.

They landed their ship on a large platform that jutted out from the side of one of the towers but considerably less than half the office-space windows were lit and the laundry hanging out of the windows argued most of it was not being used for business. There were three or four other ships there, and further up the landing, men with rifles and stun-sticks emerged to investigate. Julienne was all garbed in black and looked rather menacing as he followed her to the docking area. He had put on his clothes and armor he had worn to rescue her and she had provided another black cape. It hid both their faces as they walked down the ramp.

Apparently the effect of Sith Lord and apprentice was received exactly as they hoped. The creatures' eyes widened in surprise and then fear.

"I will be renting this spot until further notice," said Julienne and Shemric could sense a very mild Force manipulation. "My apprentice will stay with the ship to keep an eye on things. You may send your master out to collect from him as soon as you wish. You will forget what I look like after I have departed."

The creatures continued to nod and then turned back to scurry inside the skyscrapers interior. "You make a menacing figure when you wish."

"It would have been easier if I was taller," she said. "It is easier to loom when you are tall. I will let you know what to do as soon as possible. Until then, we need to stay as small as possible." They nodded to each other and she left. There was no more use arguing over it; they had done that for a day up in space while discussing the plan. Shemric thought she was mostly correct, but he did not like her going off without him on this place. Julienne had not taken a saber, and was armed only with a simple club he had made by morphing a metal pipe with the Force. It would do in a pinch, and she said she had kept up her unarmed fighting skills.

So Shemric just stood there waiting until a Neimodian female came walking out. Their negotiation was short and Shemric authorized funds for renting the space. He was purposely vague about how long they would remain and she seemed happy to receive any sort of recompense for it. Once finished, they parted and he went inside and closed the ramp. Without cargo, the ship felt quite spacious, so he went through a few exercises that were more for concentration and form than any other purpose and waited for her to contact him.

He kept himself occupied with various tasks until he grew bored after a couple of hours. The ships security system prevented boarders and was quite robust as you might expect from a pirate who wanted to keep his privacy. Finally, he sat down to meditate on what he was doing and what he expected to happen. His place in the Order had always been somewhere between precarious and awkward, depending on whether the Grand Master was around or not. He suspected his days as a Jedi would be over once Grand Master Shan passed on. She was not old, but in times of war …

Julienne, however, stirred up all kinds of emotions and sometimes they flat out contradicted one another. Over the years, they had spent more time apart than together, but always when they met again it was as if they were one person joined. This time... well, there was a distance between them. She did not smile and she did not attempted to touch him or manipulate him physically as she might have in the past.

Her normal enthusiasm for intimate relations had been non-existent on the trip to Nar Shaddaa and she had been hesitant to touch him in any way. Even more troubling were their political arguments.

"So what if the Empire winning the war was the best thing for the majority of the galaxy?" she had asked him one day when they had turned off the lights and were sleeping in separate bunks. "It would end all the death and destruction and bring order."

"That might make some sense if the Sith had not started the war," he had argued. "You cannot start a war and then claim it is better for the other side of the fight to surrender because so many people are dying. If you really cared about dying people you would not have started a war."

"So you do not think any war is justified?" she said.

"Defending yourself is always justified," he said. "The Emperor did not start the war for justice. He wanted revenge and more territory. If you left him in charge, what do you think would happen?"

"We would all cease to exist," she said.

"Then why would you possibly think that a Sith victory in the war could be a good thing?!" he asked in exasperation.

"What if we could end the war by destroying the Emperor?" she asked.

"What do you think would happen to the Empire without the Emperor?" he asked. "Did you not say he has been the driving force behind everything for a thousand years?"

"He has, and I think having one leader helped the Empire grow in way the Republic cannot imagine, but now he seeks more, I think," she said. "I have been pondering this very thing for some time—well, since I met him, or it-since I do not really believe it is human anymore. If we could end the war by removing him then I think it would be better for everyone."

"The problem with that theory comes back to the very nature of the Sith," he said. "They do not get along because they all want to be on the throne. As you describe it, his power has curtailed and focused all of that outward. If you ended the war and got rid of him then you Sith would just start fighting each other until one emerged on top and the others were gone."

"The strongest survive … " she said quietly. "He encourages that from the rest of us while looking down from his near-impregnable pedestal. I think we have come as far as he can take us as an empire. We grow stagnant because of him."

"Do you not think the new grand Lord of the Sith would just start the war all over again?" he asked.

"Probably," she agreed. "War is the way we test ourselves to our limits. My master went to a lot of effort to get rid of Darth Malgus, but she agrees with many of his views. He believed that the Empire existed so that he can fight. My master is little different."

"How is removing the Emperor going to help, then," he asked?

She did not answer and then surprised him with a change of subject.

"So your martial skills have taken another leap forward," she said.

"The Grand Master made me the assistant to the battlemaster when I arrived," he said. "I spent a lot of time every day training. And both of them think I have some great work to perform and have made it their personal objective to make me as perfect a fighter as possible."

"But you went back to your single saber against Gravil," she said.

"When in doubt, Sorensu is best," he said.

She did not chuckle. "Of course. Well, since I have yet to defeat you then I will have to defer to your wisdom on that one.

"Darth Gravil seemed pretty far gone," noted Shemric. "Outside of your Emperor, the Darkside does not lend itself to longevity."

"Gravil was the youngest member of the Dark Council," she said. "They all vie for to become the Emperor's favorite since he can grant to others the immortality he possesses."

"Really? That does not sound too smart; what if he did that and that person decided he wanted more?"

"He would be squashed," she said. "Longevity and power are two different things."

They sat quietly pondering that for a long time before Shemric finally asked. "Do you really believe the Empire would be a better answer for the galaxy than the Republic?"

"I cannot really say," she admitted. "There is injustice under both rules. There are haves and have-nots. Rich and poor. Slave and free. I am not sure they are really different. It is sort of like picking up a credit chip. On side has the Emperor's face, the other the Supreme Chancellor, but you cannot really separate them."

"So the Sith and the Republic are destined to play out this fight over and over again without end?" he asked.

"I fear so," she said. "People do not learn lessons well and so they repeat errors. How many wars have the Sith and Republic fought already?"

Shemric lay there thinking about the futility of all of it. Why keep fighting endless wars? There did not seem any point. Except, if you left the Sith in charge then there would be a lot less personal liberty.

"Order at the cost of personal choice seems to be the Sith's answer to the chaos of democracy," he pointed out.

"Supposed democracy," she sneered.

"One could say that order imposed at the point of the sword was not really order either," he said. He wondered how much of her dislike of the Republic was just Sith conditioning, just like his dislike for the Sith was imposed by his Jedi training.

She was quiet for so long that he wondered if she had fallen asleep. He rarely won arguments and that one felt more like a stalemate, but he thought it had been important.

When they had arrived at the moon, they had argued over the plan, but he had finally given in and admitted he knew nothing about the place and its players.

"I have been here a few times," she said. "Information can be bought on Nar Shaddaa that you cannot find in other places."

"Are you here to sell the ship or find out information?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "Selling the ship will allow me to buy the information."

"Do you not think that might be a little dangerous now that the Emperor is your enemy?" he had asked.

"Very," she admitted. "I do not intend to return to Dromund Kaas. I need to find a splinter cell somewhere. People that are trying to get rid of the Emperor."

"Ah, so you are rebelling against the Empire now?" he said with amusement.

"Just the Emperor," she said sharply. "From there … well, we shall see."

She had detailed her plan then, which first involved selling the ship and then diving into the more dangerous parts of the underside of the moon to find the answers she needed. She had warned him to be patient.

So patient he would be.

Shemric looked at his watch. It had been three hours. He sighed.

She had been gone for more than a day when she finally contacted him. _Go up to the cockpit please._ He ran forward and was happy to see her cloak-enshrouded face on the comm screen. "I have a buyer," she said. "Please fly to these coordinates and I will be waiting." That was all. The location came up on the screen and then the transmission was cut off.

 _Nice to see you, too, witch._

There was no sense complaining about her brusqueness. He was just irritated at the wait. He fired up the engines and in a few moments was climbing to altitude that would allow him to reach the designated spot. Since she had left at the beginning of the Nar Shaddaa night and said night lasted some forty-odd hours it was still dark when he took off and the darkness lent itself to sneaking about under its cover. He flew without lights and kept a close eye on the tracking screens to keep away from other ships and not fly into an old building. As he neared the location she had sent, it turned out to be an even larger building with an even larger platform and this building looked much more prosperous than the last. It was a used spacecraft lot of some sort, based off the many and varied models he could see. The pirate ship was of moderate size, neither the largest or the smallest ship there, though it certainly appeared to be the most heavily modified.

" _Here_."

He saw a single flash of red light and then nothing. He landed carefully on the indicated spot and she emerged from the shadows with a serious-looking old man with a Zabrak bodyguard. Once he lowered the ramp, the old man followed Julienne up the ramp but motioned his man to stay behind. He examined Shemric for a short moment and then continued on to the interior. Shemric walked down the ramp to stand opposite the Zabrak without making eye contact. A few minutes later Julienne and the old man both emerged.

"Well, it seemed unlikely that you could have been correct in your numbers, but it seems that you were, so I will tender the second offer," he said. Julienne was playing up her Sith Lord role to its best effect, but the man was too experienced to show any nervousness. That is, until she nodded and accepted the offer. Then he looked more relieved than seemed appropriate for the situation. "Can I call you an aircar to take you back to … wherever you need to go." Again, something seemed off about him now and Shemric was surprised when Julienne accepted. Once she had verified the transaction had gone through, she nodded and walked down the ramp. The old man and his bodyguard disappeared inside.

"You seem to have the intimidating Sith Lord look down well," he mentioned.

She looked at him in surprise and shook her head. "I am Darth Monikas. I am not sure how much of Julienne Qa will survive what we have to do."

"If Julienne does not survive, then what is the point of any of this?" he asked.

"The betterment of others," she pointed out.

Shemric scowled and realized that he was arguing about helping others at your own expense with a Sith Lord. He feared that she was truly Sith now and he inwardly mourned the loss of his friend and lover.

"Walk with me this way," she said abruptly. She led him over to the edge of the platform in such a way as to leave the line of sight of the new owners of their ship. "I am not sure we should be taking any car that he summons…" began Shemric before she interrupted him. " _Jump_!"

She disappeared over the edge of the platform and he started and followed her a moment later. She disappeared in the blackness almost immediately, as least to his eyes. With the wind whipping by, there was no way his ears could have sensed anything, but he varied his angle of attack and soon located her hand in the dark.

" _How do we get off this elevator_?" he asked.

A moment later, an air cargo truck dropped in beside them and they maneuvered to catch its exterior handhold. Once secured it began to decelerate until it came to a stop and they climbed in quickly. When they made it inside, Julienne extinguished the all the lights, put on her straps and belts and then accelerated away through the obstacle-rich lower city. After perhaps fifteen minutes, she adeptly pulled into a parking space at a middle-class high-rise apartment and they disembarked.

"I take it you felt threatened after the sale?" he asked.

"I sense someone who is ill-disposed towards the Sith at the moment," she said. "We shall have to come up with a different persona." He followed her as they moved quickly to the elevators, descended several hundred floors, crossed to another building and then finally took a public walkway to a seedy looking hotel that had a neon sign out front with only half the letters working.

"This looks nice," he commented.

"This is just a front," she said and walked through the front doors and directly to another elevator. A few minutes later she used a card key to open a door and they entered a very modest room with a bed, a nightstand, a surprisingly large bathroom and many bags and boxes.

"Welcome to home base," she said.

"Mmmm, cozy," he said.

"Have you slept?"

"A little," he said.

"Well, I am exhausted," she admitted. "Let us rest now and figure out where to go in the morning."

"Fine with me," said Shemric. "I am still not sure what we are doing anyway."

"You will see," said Julienne in a flat voice. She might have called him 'young Jedi' or some such teasing in the past, but she seemed to have lost all humor. They slept in separate beds again.


	28. Chapter 28

Nar Shaddaa

Julienne's mode of dress the next day was so ordinary as to not excite comment and her make-up actually made her look less attractive somehow. She looked tired and worn out and he did not think that was all make up.

"So what are we doing today?" he asked.

"Questions, lots of questions," she said. "Get dressed," she motioned toward two of the bigger boxes. "Armor for you in there. And I may give you a facial scar or two to make you look more intimidating."

He pulled open the trunks and found a beat up, but still serviceable set of armor in his size. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the armor had been created to look beat up. "Is this even real armor?" he asked.

"It is, but the newest fad is for your bodyguards to look a little rough around the edges," she said. He began to buckle it on piece by piece until he looked like a grizzled veteran of many a conflict.

"You still look too young," she commented. "How have you managed survive so much war without any visible scars?"

"I heal well," he said. "It tends not to leave scars."

She nodded as if that made some sense. "Well, put your old boots on and check out your weapons. I will give you a scar last, before we leave." He found two heavy pistols, one a regular Republic issue with which he was quite familiar. He broke it down first, checked the charge and then looked at the unfamiliar weapon. It seemed serviceable and he pulled out the power pack and then worked the trigger a few times to get a feel for it.

When he presented his shabby looking self to the bathroom, Julienne skillfully applied makeup to make him look a little older and gave him a few slight scars.

She smiled, but there was no humor in it, when she stood back from her work. "Nice; you look quite grizzled."

"Why not just buy me a helmet?" he asked.

"Because I want to see you scowling and grumpy today," she said.

"You are the boss," he said in his best militaristic voice.

"Exactly," she said. He had been trying to tease her but again she simply did not respond to any attempts at humor. He must have been scowling.

"There! That is exactly the look I want to see. Slightly bored but ready and dangerous at the same time."

"I will try my best," he mumbled.

The day turned out to be less than exciting for Shemric. He stood around looking bored, read and dangerous at no fewer than six different meetings. Shemric could not tell what they accomplished, though he thought he saw several of them pass over discs or computer drives to Julienne without being obvious about it. There was no real predicting what sort of people she might meet. One was a large space yacht dealership. One was in a dark alley next to a pile of trash. One was in a run-down restaurant where they actually ate a meal before the meeting began. Well, Julienne ate a meal and Shemric patrolled around her table.

Several of them spoke languages that Shemric had never heard before. The one thing that was consistent about all of them, was that they looked nervous and tried very hard to hide it. After the fourth time he observed this, he commented. "None of these folks look afraid of you anymore. They look afraid of passing you information."

"That is because the information is very dangerous," was all she would say.

It was the last meeting where things got out of hand.

Shemric was instantly on the alert when six or seven rough-looking fellows of different species stepped out of the shadows. He had sensed them as individuals so when they moved as a group, it had surprised him. One of them, a Neimodian, stepped forward. "We hear you are looking for information. We think maybe you should not really be doing that. We would very much like to know who you are."

The weapons that were lowered all around them were too many for Shemric to avoid. They had walked into a trap.

Except that Julienne did not seem overly worried. At least not on the outside.

 _I expected this meeting to be different. Get ready to move on my signal._

The Neimoidian came closer. "Sometimes it is better not to seek information about certain parties," he said. "Sometimes questions should not be answered."

With some focus, Shemric could count nine individuals total that were surrounding them. Eight of them appeared armed.

"Are you here to provide answers?" said Julienne in a light voice. "We pay well for filling the gaps in our knowledge."

"Spending your money will do us no good if we are dead," he said.

"Whoa, why are we talking about dying?" she continued. "I am just a seeker for knowledge."

"Do you have the data disc?" said the Neimoidian.

 _Now I know which of our sources betrayed us_ , thought Julienne. _Feel free to extricate us from this situation however you see fit. But not with the lightsaber or you will have to kill them all._

 _Okay, I am going to shoot out that light and pull you back with the Force. Get ready to run._ Shemric casually sighted the lonely streetlight and shot out the bulb to plunge the alley back into darkness. He jerked Julienne back to him and then spun and engaged the henchmen nearest their position. When he had stunned three of them, he called, _Run_! And they took off down the alley while the Neimoidian shouted, "Kill them! Kill them!"

They ran then and weaved in and out of alleys and hopped fences for ten or so minutes until they started to come to a more prosperous district where they stopped to catch their breath and then slipped into the night-shopping foot traffic.

"Are we finished for the night?" he asked.

 _Yes we are_ , she said. _Today was most fruitful and I am tired of walking. . My feet hurt._

 _Well, if you are nice to me, I might be convinced to rub them for you_ , he said, smirking. It would not be the first time he had done it.

 _I will be fine, she said curtly._ If her feet were hurting her, she did not show it as she strode along peering into shops and occasionally buying something. They kept it up for another half an hour until she came to an aircar dealership and strode in for a test drive. They left with a luxury model with a price that had Shemric sputtering when they flew away with a salesman in the back seat. After about fifteen minutes of flying, Julienne landed on a crowded hotel platform and then turned to the human in the back seat.

"My customers changed their minds," she said.

"My customers changed their minds," he repeated.

"I let them off in the Red Light District," she said.

"I let them out in the Red Light District," he repeated.

"I will return to work now," she said.

"I will return to work now," he repeated.

She dismounted the vehicle and strode into the hotel as if she had already booked a room, which apparently she had.

An elevator took them to the 234th floor where she keyed them in with a card. She did not appear to have been to this room before since it looked like any new room one rented. She promptly flopped on the bed and kicked her shoes off.

"So do I get to know what we accomplished today?" he asked when he put down his weapons.

"No," she said. "It is better you not know. The Emperor already wants to kill you. Let us not give him more reasons."

Shemric knew he was frowning again. _How safe are we here?_

 _As safe as we are anywhere in the galaxy, she said._

 _Well, I am going to wedge the door and put out a couple of sensors, he said._

 _Your paranoia may keep you alive, she said._

Shemric went to his bag and pulled out a couple of low-tech wedges that he jammed into the door and then set out a couple of motion sensors on the balcony. It was the best he could do, but this place was not particularly safe even if you were not on the lamb from half the galaxy's bounty hunters. That would surely be what they sent next.

Something about the idea the Emperor was looking for him made him lie down on the bed wearing his armor. The fact that Julienne seemed so changed and distant only made him feel all the more lonely there in that nameless hotel on the back end of the galaxy.

"I am sorry that I cannot be that person for you," said Julienne from the other bed. It was dark and it was odd enough that she did not just speak to him in his mind. "Things changed more than I expected after I was granted ascension. It seemed everyone felt the need to test me and if I defeated them once, they made up some excuse as to why it had happened and then came back and tried again. To avoid more challenges I had to be increasingly brutal. Many of them died and that angered their masters." She delivered it all in a voice without inflection as if it was something that had happened to someone else. "Then the assassins started whenever I left Drommund Kaas. Acina sent me out on missions; most often to Coruscant where I was a specialist. My cover made it nearly impossible to carry a weapon and so I was constantly fighting off attempts on my life with nothing but my body as a weapon. I survived because you had honed me into a warrior and survivor without peer. I did things that others could not do. When they sent Force-sensitives against me, I learned to hide from them and strike without warning. When they sent non-Force users, they did not have a chance. I think that Darth Acina was surprised every time I returned." She did not go on and it was difficult to imagine the constant threat to your life.

"I … " he wanted to say something, but what could he say?

"No, I have not even told you the worst of it," she said. He started. How could it get much worse than constant threats on your life? "After the presentation to the Emperor, I began to fear that he may have sifted some of my memories out of the audience and begun to consider you a threat. Darth Acina began to question me about you much more often and it was clear she wanted to find you. I had already cut myself off from all feelings for you and pushed you far to the back of my mind, but now I had to bury you deep and pull my psychic shields in tighter and tighter to block out Ancina's queries or other Sith that were strong in that area. I did not share with anyone. I did not talk to anyone. I was completely alone."

Shemric shivered at the tone-dead sound of her voice. It scared him more than anything he had ever seen or heard from her. He knew that soldiers often snapped under the pressure of the things they had to do and Julienne—no he had to think of her as Darth Monikas—had been under that kind of stress for years. He rose and went to sit on the edge of the bed to take her hand but she pulled back from him.

"You cannot just fix this with a few tender touches and kind words, Shemric," she said. "I can remember the things we did together, but I simply cannot connect them to any emotion or feelings. My time with you feels like a box that I buried in the sand on the beach and then did not return to dig it up for so long that I forgot where it was hidden. I remember what was in it but I don't know how to find it. Becoming Darth Monikas … it became impossible to live in two worlds any longer. I had to commit."

Shemric wanted to scream. Or cry. He could not either and sat on the edge of the bed trying to fight off the feeling of hopelessness. Julienne had become Darth Monikas in truth. He tried to reach across and take her hand again; he needed something, a gesture, a touch, a feeling of human warmth but she edged further away.

"You still don't understand, Shemric," she said. "You cannot share with me anymore. You cannot see the things I have done. I cannot bear for you to see what I have become. It does not matter that I did it to protect you. I failed. We are both marked by the Emperor and that means today or tomorrow or the next day, it will be over."

"If you are not going back, then we can flee and hide until we can work through this," he suggested quietly. "The Emperor is not omniscient or we would already be dead."

He could sense Julienne shaking her head. "Shemric, you still do not understand … " she began quietly.

"Then explain it to me!" he surprised himself by shouting. His reserves of self-control were gone. Julienne was conceding and it made him angry.

She did not shout back or retaliate, as she might have once. She seemed beyond caring. "I will try. It is not just that I do not want you to see and experience the things that I have done. I do not think that I can _be_ the old Julienne and remember the things I have done and _feel_ again. Julienne and Monikas cannot co-exist without dying. They are simply too different."

Shemric pondered her words and wondered if he did understand. He had felt loneliness but not the strain of every hand being turned against you. He had Nofa and Orosan, the kindly Master Slocum, the understanding Grand Master Shan, Captain Greggson and Sakrogi. His family had welcomed him back with love. He had not lived most of his life in fear. In all of her life since her parents had been killed, he had been the only true friend for her and they had spent precious little time together. And now she was lost to him. Despair filled him as it never had in the days when he had been forced to leave her and go his own way. If she left this time, as she was, they would never meet again. He knew that.

On the heels of despair, anger began to bubble up, and determination and …

"Shemric, shouting at me is not going to help," she said in that lifeless tone.

Any other time, the words would have made him angry but this time it was not the words but the way she said them. The Empire had taken her away from him. And Shemric was not going to let that stand.

"Shem … " she called out in a voice of rising warning.

In an instant, Shem retreated into his own mind and used techniques that Juju had taught him to follow the pathways of memories back through the years. It was driving an aircar through a cave at full speed; the decision to follow this path or that happened too fast for the conscious mind to follow and he relied on instinct to find what he wanted. It was slippery and elusive but fortunately many of his memories of Julienne had very strong feelings attached to them.

 _There!_ He lurched to a stop and looked out of his eyes at Julienne for the first time. She was so young his heart nearly burst at the expression on her face as they played out their very first encounter. Shemric did not know what he did, but he tried to focus on something, an association, a thread of connection that they had created after their very first meeting. Suddenly, there was something there and he followed it and began to pull on it.

At that moment, Julienne was there in his mind, filling up every space and booming like the sound of a spacecraft launch. _SHEMRIC! CEASE!_

Shemric's mind reeled, but he held that thread and pulled it more tightly until it snapped and he felt himself and Julienne reliving the moment.

 _"I am Julienne Qa, not girl," she said._

 _"Well, manners, finally," he said and gave a slight bow. "And I am Shemric Norm. I am pleased to meet you Julienne Qa."_

 _"Now you mock me," she said, and reignited her saber before leaping at him._

Forward.

 _Walking took a supreme effort, but he managed to stagger over and kneel next to Julienne. She was lying with her eyes closed and he put a finger to her throat to check for a pulse. It was slightly fast but strong and she reached up and gripped his hand with a moan._

 _"I …do not think … that went … very well," she said. She rolled off her side to look up at him. "How is it that you are alive and him dead? I saw you throw your blade and him blast you with lightning. That was silly. The throwing part." That seemed to exhaust her store of words._

 _"He picked me up and asked if I wanted to be his new apprentice," said Shem. "He brought me in close and I killed him with a hidden knife from a wrist sheath." She closed her eyes and blew out a deep breath._

 _"So now I have you to thank for being alive … again," she said. "This is intolerable."_

 _Shemric barked out laughter and staggered to sit down awkwardly. His brain was having a hard time giving his body orders. "You still have to fly me off this planet. Then we will be even again."_

 _"We will never be even," she groaned and tried to sit up. "You will keep getting me in trouble and then claiming you had to save me from it."_

Forward.

 _Before he could say anything, she kissed him soundly like two lovers soon to be parted for a long separation._

 _She smirked at the surprised look on his face when she stepped back. "It has been a pleasure meeting you Shemric Norm. I am not sure this makes us quite even, but it is the best I can do for you in exchange for my life several times over."_

 _"How about another kiss," he blurted without thinking._

 _She snorted at him but quickly re-engaged and kissed him more thoroughly than the first time. Shemric thought their technique might be improving._

 _This time though she shoved him back. "Now go on, you incorrigible Jedi boy. And do not force me to cut off your parts the next time I see you."_

 _"Like you could..." he teased._

 _STOP IT, SHEMRIC! I CANNOT DO THIS! Julienne cried in his mind._

 _NO! he called back. He felt his will hardening. She would not throw this away._

Forward.

 _"You are a very nice boy," said Julienne. Shem looked up in surprise. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. "I am not a nice girl, you know. This will end badly."_

 _"I assumed it would," he said, "from the first moment you walked in here. That only bothers me a little bit."_

 _Julienne chuckled mirthlessly and lay her head down on his chest. He put his arms around her and she did not protest._

Forward.

 _Shemric gathered all his carefully constructed walls and dissipated them. Her essence rushed into him like liquid from a pitcher into a small cup. He was filled and overwhelmed and for a moment they fused and he felt like the world swayed; he looked out of her eyes at himself looking at her looking at himself …_

 _Almost like a hand to his shoulder, Julienne steadied him until he could open his eyes and know who he was and where he was. Juju was still sitting on the bed, looking up at him with a glorious smile and glassy eyes that brimmed with tears._

 _Why did you do that? she asked._

 _I decided I did not care anymore if you knew everything."._

 _She made a small 'oh' motion and covered her mouth with her hand. One tear snaked its wayout the corner of her eye and down her cheek to leave a tiny runnel in her carefully crafted make-up. She must have seen herself through his eyes because she removed her hand and dabbed at her face, smearing the eyeliner. She stood quickly and seemed to be trying to gulp in great lungfuls of breath. Then she looked at him again, wiped at her eyes again and took three strides over to him and took him bodily to pull his face down to kiss her._

 _I do not care if you mess up my make-up._

STOP THIS, PLEASE, SHEMRIC, I AM BEGGING YOU! she cried. I _can't_ feel this again.

He moved forward mercilessly.

 _She was waiting on a metal walkway about six meter above him, highlighted by the lights from the machinery, dressed head-to-toe in black. He smiled at her dramatic flair and reached out to her in the Force. She was much the same as he remembered only there were slight flares of Darkside power and she deliberately masked her thoughts from him outside of her steely determination. He stopped a good distance away to admire her. He knew he should not; this was not going to be a fight from which he walked away unscathed. Either he would win and lose her for a long time or she would win and he would die. He shook his head and projected his voice in a very tight whisper to her ears only._

 _"We do not have to do this."_

 _"Of course we do," she whispered back. "This is the point toward which we were headed since the day we met. You knew ours was always going to be a tragedy."_

 _"I hoped otherwise," he said._

 _"Hope is foolish," she said and leaped off the platform to land a few paces from him._

And again.

 _When she turned back to him her expression was hard in the red light of her blade. She was searching for something on his face and what she found she did not like. In an instant her blade swung at his head and he had the slightest of margins to decide something; he could block her hand; he could bring up his own saber; or, he could remain motionless and … wait._

 _The humming blade stopped fractions of millimeters from his forehead. Her eyes blazed even more furious than before. "Why? What kind of person are you? To let your enemy inside your guard to kill you."_

 _"_ _When did you become my enemy?" he asked._

 _"_ _I am Sith; I have always been your enemy," she said. She had not lowered her arm and the buzzing of the blade was unnerving that close._

 _"_ _Really, then what are we doing here?" he asked. He could see her arm was straining from holding there as if she did not really know what she would do._

 _"_ _I am starting to wonder," she said and he found himself flying backwards, flailing._

And again.

 _Julienne came to her feet slowly and barely got her blade up in time for his first attack. Instead of continuing he stepped back and whipped up the sand to disorient her and then went very small in the Force and rushed her._

 _His shoulder took her in the mid-section and she whoofed as the air left her lungs and he bore her to the ground and knocked her saber away. She tried to reverse his position, but she was not very strong and he quickly pinned her to ground as she struggled for air. Her expression was one of shocked amazement as he brought his fist back to pummel her, but he finally took hold of himself and smacked the ground instead._

 _Shemric spit out the sand as he shoved himself off of her and stepped back to look down at her in disgust. She was breathing again, at least, and looking rather rumpled in her black Sith armor with her hair in wild disarray._

 _That, she said in his head, is more like it._

 _He wanted to yell at her and shaker her until her teeth cracked but the sense of satisfaction that flowed between them quickly calmed his frazzled nerves and brought his own emotions in check._

 _That was unwise, he said. You could have been injured._

 _And you do not think that I am? she asked in amusement. I am bruised and battered and I have sand in unmentionable places._

 _He wanted to go to her and heal her when he sensed her pain but he knew she would never allow it. She enjoyed her well-earned aches._

 _Have you had enough for tonight, or shall we go a second round? he asked._

 _The problem with provoking you is that you do not hold back at all, she said. She had stood and was brushing herself off. Do you remember the time we fought on Balmorra, at the end, when you came to me in the power station?_

 _How would I ever forget? he said. It was about the worst day of my life._

 _Shush, I was not finished yet. I meant to say, do you remember what I said to you during that fight about not giving me your best in training. I accused you of holding back so that you could defeat me later._

 _Oh, I remember, he said._

 _That is what I need from you, she said. I need your very best._

 _Why?_

 _Because I have to be better than the others, if I am to survive, she said. I cannot be just good enough. I have to crush them so they never try me again. No Sith will give that to me._

 _Shemric blew out a long breath and considered her. He did not understand, nor did he perhaps, want to, but her explanation made sense. She needed him to be hard on her._

 _"_ _I would do anything for you, Julienne Qa," he said quietly. "If that is what you need."_

 _She came to him slowly then and embraced him awkwardly in their armor. It went on for some time before she whispered in his ear. "I need all of you, Shem. Everything you can give."_

 _"_ _Then I will try harder," he whispered back._

Finally.

 _Her shuttle left first and it reminded her a bit of the first time they had parted on Bonadan. Only, this time there would be no playful kisses. He did not even make a move to touch her. Finally, he blew out a breath and met her eyes._

 _Thanks for coming for me, he said. We beat the odds again. He seemed to be clenching his jaw so hard that she doubted he could have spoken aloud. Every so often his face spasmed in a frown and then appeared calm. Be well, Julienne Qa. I will miss you. He nodded then and swept past her all in a rush._

 _She nearly reached out a hand to him. She nearly called to him several times. But she did not. Instead, she pulled all her feelings for him deep inside and put them in a box. It was the only thing she could do to protect him. Their connection dwindled down to a small stream and she could sense his utter heartache take hold as it wound down to a trickle and then winked out. She gasped at the finality of it. She could not breathe. She had to be alone._

 _Julienne stormed toward her shuttle and demanded a private cabin for a few minutes. The terrified attendant stumbled trying to accommodate her. When the door closed behind her, Julienne folded up and lay on the small cushioned bench and began to sob. It was not something she had done since the day she had been ripped from her home and everything she knew. She had not thought she would ever feel that way again, but her connection to Shemric was severed and her emotions felt she had lost a limb. Oh, she could still sense his presence out there somewhere, but none of the affection, the humor, the unbending loyalty or the unrestrained love he gave to her could be felt. She was empty inside and all the sobbing in the world could not change that._

 _When Julienne Qa, Sith apprentice, emerged from the small cabin over an hour later, she was again herself; independent, willful, quick-thinking and dangerous. All vestiges of Shemric Norm were scoured from her heart. She would do what she must to survive or she would never see him again._

Shemric nearly fumbled and lost the connection in surprise. That last memory had not been his. Feeling what she had felt changed his perception of their parting that day. She had not been unfeeling when they parted. She had forced herself to be unfeeling _after_ they parted.

He slowly came back to himself in that cold room, lying on his side between the beds.

 _Julienne?_ he called tentatively. Nothing.

Shemric rose up and looked across at Julienne. His eyes had become accustomed to the low light in the mostly dark room and he could see Julienne lying on her back on the bed, eyes closed and unmoving. He touched her arm softly, but she did not move and he could not sense her psychic walls at all. It was not that he was shut out; there was nothing to sense. She had retreated inside herself. He suspected that if he did not do something then she would never wake up. The irony of using what she had taught him to go and find her in a place she did not want to be found was not lost on him, but it was the last thing to do. He lay next to her and took her hand in his. He relaxed and began to meditate on all the times she had wrapped him up in her consciousness and pulled him off to blissful sleep. That was not quite what he wanted here, but it was as close as he could come to something that might work.

When Shemric sat up in his favorite beach chair on his favorite beach, he wanted to shout for success until he turned and saw that Julienne was not sitting in her accustomed chair next to him. He stood and looked around and did not sense her. Not knowing what else to do, he walked to check the bungalow, with no luck. He decided he was going to have to search the island and that was not going to be a short process. It occurred to him that this was a dream and he did not really need to 'walk.' He simply imagined himself at the peak of the island and there he was. _Excellent_! he thought. The island was exactly as he remembered it from up this high with a breathtaking view of the ocean. With his newfound ability, he began to search the island far more rapidly than he could have otherwise done, but it was all to no avail. Either she was better at hiding or she was not really here.

Shem imagined himself back to his chair and sat comfortably. He closed his eyes and tried not to think of it as a physical thing at all, but a construct of the mind. When he did so, his perception shifted and suddenly Julienne was right there next to him. He opened his eyes and the island was back but this time she was sitting there in her favorite chair, sunning in her favorite green hat.

 _I suppose you think that you are clever, Shemric Norm, she said._

 _Not really, he admitted. Everything I learned about the mind and its relationship to the Living Force came from you. You have always been the clever one._

 _Well, then I taught you far too well if you were able to do what you did, she said. I am not even sure what you did do. Other than make me relive and refeel all those shared memories. Well, you had your way, even when I warned you. Now I am going to sit here on my island until my body wastes away and I get to move on to whatever … comes after._

 _No you are not, he said. You were never a quitter._

She finally opened her eyes and transformed from relaxed sunbather to angry Sith in an instant. She even had that ridiculous facial tattoo. Her eyes were blazing.

 _If you think you are going to goad me into coming back, then you are not as clever as you think! My cup of misery is all full and you just can't pour any more into it. So don't think you can anger me or manipulate me into returning. I am staying here and enjoying my island._

She transformed back to sunbather and closed her eyes again. He smiled. This was the last really good time they had had together on this island. They had trained and fought and loved and played as no other time in their relationship. There had been death here, too, at the end, but that did not change that here they had been almost normal. Shem had a feeling they were still pretty far removed from normal, but if they were going to get there, it was not anger or manipulation that was going to change her mind.

 _I will not say that I am sorry that I made you relive all of that, Julienne, he began. Those times were challenging and difficult but they shaped us and connected us. I would never have been able to force those shared memories on you if they had not_ been shared _. I cannot understand what you have gone through since our last parting but it does not matter. We still have a thing to do together. Really, even that does not matter._

 _Then why are you still talking! she asked in irritation?_

 _Because I have not had my say, he replied. I am going to try to not bore you with a spiritual/metaphysical discussion about why things happen and our place in the galaxy and the Living Force. I am just going to tell you that I love you and wish you would come back. I know things look bleak, but that is nothing new to us. You and I, together, will always be something greater than you and I separate. Darth Monikas and Jedi Master Norm do not add up to more than Julienne and Shemric. The math of us versus the Emperor does not look favorable, but when has it ever made any sense? It won't, so let's stop complaining and get back to work._

Shem could not really think of anything to say more, so he stopped.

 _That was sweet, said Julienne_ and her tone was full of sarcasm and cynicism. _I am not sure if that was more or less annoying than having you lecture me would have been._

 _I can be more annoying if you want, he offered._

She snorted and opened her eyes to regard him. _You are such an idiot._

 _That's the spirit,_ he encouraged and then she laughed. Something happened in that moment and her eyes opened wide and her face took on a stunned expression. When her eyes met his he felt like he was being bodily picked up and hurled out of the dream.

Shem woke up in the dark and Julienne was wracked with great sobs as she lay on her side in the fetal position. _It hurts too much! I can't do this anymore. It is too much!_

Shemric wrapped her up physically and then settled his consciousness lightly onto hers. _You are not alone anymore, Julienne. That road is done. Let's go a different way._

 _It is not done until you understand, she said._ This time it was Shemric's turned to cringe as she pulled him into her memories and he lived the time since their separation. The sensation of loneliness was nearly mind-numbing. He simply could not wrap his mind around the things she had done and suffered. This time it was his consciousness that fled.

When Shemric woke up he was disoriented and reached out for Julienne only to find that his hands were bound behind his back. His feet were also bound and his mouth was gagged.

 _Julienne_! he called quickly.

 _Relax, Shemric, it will be all right,_ she responded quickly.

 _Where are you, he asked quickly?_

 _On my way out of the system. Do you remember how you left me unconscious and angry after Balmorra? Well, you are going to have to trust me on this one. Go to Mandalore and find allies. I will be doing the same and you will know when I need you again._

Shemric did not know what to say. He lay there stunned. After so much time apart he did not want to separate from her again so soon, if at all. _Why Mandalore, he asked?_

 _I have no idea, but I saw it in my dream last night. I am sorry. They do not know you are a Jedi and I would recommend you keep it that way. I will send your things back to your temple on Tython._

 _This cannot be happening,_ he thought, but she would not speak to him again and he did not wake up from the nightmare. With nothing else available to him, he slowly calmed himself and found his center in a healing trance. It was the best he could do.


	29. Chapter 29

**Mandalore**

Several miserable days and two ship transfers later, Shemric found himself in an orientation of sorts, grouped with a rather rough looking crowd of toughs, sad-looking slaves and some others who appeared to be professional soldiers. They were on Mandalore based off several clues he had overheard from crew members and Shemric was beginning to have a sneaking suspicion what his fate might be. He was still wearing cuffs, as were about a dozen or so of the others.

A Mando came out, helmet under his arm and raised a hand to calm the talk. That was all it took; something in his expression and the wicked, slanting scar across his face made you think that he would not be a man to cross.

"Listen up," said the man. He had no hair and his scar started somewhere on the back of his head and snaked over his forehead and across one eyebrow. Somehow, that eye still seemed intact. "You are here for one reason only; to fight in the Pit." Some nodded, some started in surprise and some suddenly looked fearful; it was exactly as Shemric had feared. "In order to put you to your best use, I need to know what you can do. I just do not have the kriffing time to evaluate you individually, so those of you who submitted resumes will be placed accordingly. I kriffing hope you did not exaggerate because you are going to be placed according to you resume. You will receive pay accordingly." Some of the soldiers and mercs looked pleased and some looked uncomfortable." Shemric almost smiled. The Mando read off a list of names that peeled off and followed another Mando that had come out behind the first.

The group that was left were most of the pathetic, scared-looking fellows.

"The rest of you, unfortunately, are going to be fodder for the Pit," said the man. "I have a limited amount of time to train you be at least marginally useful before someone else ends you. If that sounds like a death sentence, well, remember that more than one champion of the Pit emerged from the scrum to elevate himself above his fellows. If any of you have heretofore unmentioned skills that may make me reconsider your assignment then by all means, now is your opportunity to speak up."

There were about twenty men and two women left, including Shemric and several of them stepped forward to speak to the Mando, who listened carefully, nodded his head, took a few notes as he walked along the line, and finally came to Shemric at the end of the line.

"And what about you?" he asked.

"I have no idea why I am here," said Shemric, "so I am not sure how to answer your question."

That elicited a laugh from the Mando. "Useless," he said and made a note on his tablet.

"Oh, I would not say that," said Shemric, "what do you need me to do?"

Now the Mando looked at him very quizzically. "How about defeat the current champ?" He laughed even louder. "He does not come from my training pool, so it makes me look bad when he defeats all my folks."

"Ok," said Shemric. It occurred to Shemric that meeting the current Mandalorian champion might be one way to go looking for allies, but he had been in weirder situations.

Now the Mando seemed to be trying to prevent a fit of laughter. In the instant that their eyes met, Shemric leaped at him and kicked him in the chest to send him flying to land on his back. Before he could draw or do anything, Shemric pinned him to the graound and stepped on his weapon hand with a foot. Shemric made a gun with his fingers and bent over to put it into the man's face. "Bang, you are dead."

At first, Shemric thought the man would lose his temper about being embarrassed in front of everyone, but then he just laughed and Shemric stepped back to let him rise. As he did so, the Mando made a quick reach for his gun and Shemric batted it aside and this time kicked him in the gut. He heard the whoosh of air and reached out and took the man's wrist and removed the gun from his hand. "We can keep doing this all day, but it seems a waste of time."

The man cursed him at length when he had his breath back and looked at Shemric with a gaze that promised retribution. "I am fairly sure you paid good money for a fighter, so why be surprised that I am." With Shemric still holding his gun, the Mando was not sure how to proceed.

"We seemed to be at an impasse," said the man finally. "If you did not break my tablet, I will make a note to upgrade your position, but you do not get paid. You win credit towards freedom."

 **"** Well, that is a problem then, because I do not think that I will be a very good slave, so if if you push me too hard, you run the risk of having your face pounded in if I lose my temper," said Shemric. "If I give you back your gun, you may shoot me, but if I do not, then I have to try and make a getaway with one," he looked at the weapon, "slightly battered weapon. Either way you will have wasted all the money you paid for a good fighter," said Shemric. "So where does that leave us?"

"I guess I have to shoot you then and throw your body to the Rancor," said the Mando.

"You could do that, perhaps … " Shemric shrugged, "or we could come to some sort of agreement about what I will or will not do in your Pit." He tossed the man his gun and the Mando caught it smoothly and spun it to aim at Shemric's head before smoothly reholstering the weapon.

"So why not tell what you will do then, slave?" said the man with heavy sarcasm. "That is generally how these relationships work, is it not?" He made a quick motion to poke Shemric in the ribs with a stun staff and Shemric moved slightly and yanked it out of his hands. He reversed the direction and drove it toward the man's face all in the time it took for the man's eyes to widen in surprise and for him to suck in a breath to call for help. The staff stopped inches from the man's nose. Holding it was awkward with the cuffs, but not untenable and he stood there while the man decided whether or not to call for help. He did not.

"So I will fight droids, or animals, but nothing sentient, unless it is to disarm and not kill," said Shemric. "And I'll keep this. It looks to be something I could put to good use."

"What about Mandalorians?" the man said. "If you win a few matches, some of them are going to want to test you."

"Not to the death," said Shemric. "Until I can neutralize them."

The man snorted. "Someone has a high opinion of himself."

"Care to make a wager?" said Shemric lightly. He judged that this man would be easily lured by a bet. He seemed the type and his eyes certainly lit up. "I will defeat the first Mandalorian without any weapons. I just need some decent fitting armor and a staff that will not break."

The man let out a loud bellow of laughter. "And what can you offer me for a wager?"

"I will clean up that mess you call a weapons room back there," said Shemric. "And if I win then you get me some better food." He did not know the food would be bad, but Shemric needed something to hook him. It had to seem genuine.

The man laughed again. "If you lose you will probably be dead. This does nothing for me."

"Just find someone that will take on the challenge," said Shemric. "It is always a lot easier to kill someone than subdue them. Surely you have a big, brave Mandalorian that can manage it." The mockery was what won the slave master over. He might not be an active fighter, but insulting their race was intolerable.

"You can clean the latrines for a month!" he shouted.

"If that is what you want to wager," said Shemric calmly.

 _Ok Julienne, what lesson am I supposed to learn from these savages?_

* * *

It turned out the man's name Waschonn Wras but no one dared call him by his name. He was simply called Wash and he was universally feared. Apparently Shemric's show the first day had earned him a little bit of reputation, so everyone gave him a wide birth. It also became apparent that earning Wash's wrath meant he was going to be given no time before they tossed him in the ring.

The armor he was provided was ill-fitting, mismatched and so worn he wondered if he was going to be able to move well. He spent the entire day before his first match adjusting it so that it did not wear him in odd places and then went for a run. It was certainly not light armor either, but he was not given a selection, so he would just have to live with it. None of the helmets he could find fit well enough that their meager protection would be worth the much reduced visibility.

The staff they offered turned out to be a long, slim tube of metal with no other adornments. Shemric spun it a few times and decided he liked the weight and balance, so he went looking for some tape to give it a better grip and found something serviceable in the medical supplies. He went out to the training floor to see how well it would fly as a spear, which earned him a few jeers from Wash. It would do.

Prisoners, slaves and the lowest form of contestants were provided armament in the form of whatever castoffs had been used by the losers over the years. Weapons of all sorts were strewn haphazardly around the room and it had taken the better part of an hour to scour the mess to see if he needed anything else. He had picked up a few odds and ends to use as projectile weapons. Shemric did not really have a strong arm, nor was his aim particularly accurate, but with the Force he could both throw and hit targets beyond the capability of normal flesh. He would have to curb that urge and appear to be merely human, but it would at least provide him with a little standoff.

The Pit turned out to be a subterranean amphitheater with seating for thousands. Because it followed the natural contours of the cave from which it was hewn, it was not an oval or any sort of regular shape. It was roughly a rectangle with one length probably 75 meters long and the other perhaps forty, but there were places where it was wider and narrower. Not everyone who paid to enter would have a perfect view of all the action, so high above on the top of the dome was a very large viewing screen.

Shemric's first match was scheduled for three days after he arrived and he sat in waiting area, listening to the bloodthirsty crowd and occasionally cringing at the screams of the victims. When it was his turn, he was announced and then marched out to the center of the arena to meet his opponent. Apparently this was the traditional time where you could discuss your issues and resolve them before you resorted to trial by combat or duels. At least that was the case before the Pit became such a financial windfall for someone.

As he walked out onto the sandy surface, the crowd jeered loudly and he wondered if it was supposed to be an insult that the Mando waiting for him was a small woman. As he approached, she looked him up and down and appeared to withhold judgment. She had cropped blonde hair that looked artificially white and a she was quite attractive once one got past the scar that split the right half of her lip.

"You look neither starved nor pathetic," she said to open the conversation. "Wash led me to believe that he would be giving me a quality opponent so I hope you are up to it."

He gave her a small smirk. "Are we going to put on a show for them or is it better to end your opponent quickly?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow and squinted as if looking at him all over again. "You think you are going to beat me!" she said in surprise. "Well, isn't interesting? What is your name?  
"Call me Shemric," he said.

"I am Haima, Shemric," she said. "Good luck and let us give them a show." She put her helmet on, which was the sign that business was about to begin and the crowd started to howl. She saluted the crowd, surprisingly Shemric as well, and then attacked him with a stun-staff. She was quick, passably strong and skilled so that Shemric did not have to act very hard to look like he was being hard pressed.

Shemric's pipe felt light in his hand as he spun and blocked and tried to keep her from pinning him in a corner. The tape Shemric had installed did not completely block the effects of the stun-staff and his hands were starting to go numb. Soon he would not be able to hold it, so when the opportunity presented itself, he struck, not at his opponent, but at her weapon's power controls. The strike broke or shorted out the stun effect so that they were now evenly matched and he attacked back, pushing her across the arena with his superior reach and strength.

She was nearing one wall when she abruptly shot up, pushed off the wall and came at him like a missile. He flopped backwards so that her boot missed his face and she skidded and rolled in the dirt. He hurled his staff like a spear and struck her in the chest, which knocked her backwards just as she was standing. He scooped up her dropped staff and rushed her.

She blasted off again from a crouch and fired her flame thrower at him as she was rising. His attack became a desperate sideways leap to avoid being crisped and lost him the initiative. She landed on a small protrusion in the wall and started firing her wrist-laser at him. He dodged and ran to find cover and force her to come down after him. When she lifted off again, he pulled out one of his scrounged weapons, a small hand axe, and hurled it at her. It only caught her a glancing blow, but her graceful landing became a crash and he rushed her again, and broke her own staff over her helmet before kicking her in the chest and knocking her backwards again.

When she drew her pistol from her back, he kicked it across the arena and brought the broken end of her staff down sharply. He could have put it in her neck and finished her, but he buried it in the sand next to her head. He stood over her, hoping she was not going to prolong this, and in a few moments she raised her left hand in the sign of surrender.

Only then did Shemric notice the stunned silence of the crowd. The announcer, whose voice he had tuned out throughout the match had even fallen silent. Shemric stood back, very wary as Haima stood and removed her helmet again. Her hair was plastered to her head with sweat and she wore a sour expression.

"That was not exactly the show I had in mind," she said, but gave him a slight bow to acknowledge his skills and the crowd erupted in shouting. Some were jeering, but Shemric was surprised how many of them were cheering him as well. Apparently, defeating one of their own was enough to win respect.

"You are going to be busy in the coming days, Shemric," said Haima. "I am not even ranked in the top fifty here, but there will be a lot of requests for you after today. Today's fight will not look so bad for me when you have defeated a few more of them." She nodded acknowledgement to him and then pivoted and walked out of the arena with as much dignity as she could muster under the circumstances. Shemric decided that playing to the crowd might help him in the future so he spent a few minutes running around the arena collecting stuff that was tossed down to him. He would sort through the weapons and other items later to see what might be useful.

After his match, Shemric cleaned up as best he could and went looking for food, which prisoners normally did not get except at the designated mealtimes. Instead, Wash found him.

Shemric was unsure how to approach. He had won their bet, but this Wash was an unpredictable fellow. When the man smiled, Shemric decided that his winning would have cast positive light on Wash, even if he had nothing to do with the win.

"Well, Shemric, it appears you and I need to have a little chat." He motioned for Shemric to follow and led a meandering route through the passages until he found himself seated in an 'office' that looked more shrine than business. The artifacts, weapons and mounted trophies on the wall covered nearly every square meter of available space. Wash's chair looked comfortable; Shemric's was a stool made out of metal.

"Now that you have won a match, you no longer live in the slave quarters, so that means you automatically get better food," he began. "You will begin to accrue credit to freedom now as well. If you win a couple more matches you may even get some requests to 'escort' ladies out on the town. I suggest you defer those, politely, but I will not tell you that you cannot. The weapons you were tossed today are now yours to use as you see fit." Wash stopped then and regarded Shemric for a few moments before speaking. "You are clearly a warrior of some experience. No one steps in the Pit with such cold-blood unless they have faced the Vronska before." Shemric had no idea was a Vronska was. "So, you and I, we can reach an accommodation that will benefit both of us, or you can go your own way."

Shemric wondered if the old Mando was offering him something. "What benefit did you get from me winning today?"

"Very little, you see, because Haima is one of mine," he said. "I put you in with her to give her a bit of a challenge to boost her confidence."

"You were training her?" he asked. "How many others do you have?" Wash looked at him as if wondering whether to answer. Finally, he told Shemric there were five other Mandos he was working with that were competing. "Is that a lot, or a few?"

"Average," he said. "But they are all beginners, newbies."

"And why is that?" asked Shemric.

"Because I am getting old and I have not had a champion in a long time," said Wash. That he was confiding in Shemric made Shemric think that the man wanted something but did not want to come right out and say it. "A trainer does not have to personally train with his charges, but that is one way to help them improve. I can still fight well enough, but if I was in the Pit I would not make the top fifty, kriff, probably not even the top hundred. So I cannot push my people the way others can and that makes me less valuable as a trainer."

"And you want me to help you with that?" said Shemric. It sounded so much like what he had been doing with Nofa that he nearly smiled.

"I never said that," said Wash.

"Look, sir," said Shemric. When the man's eyebrows rose at the honorific, he amended hastily, "Wash. Let us be frank to both our benefit. I have been a soldier for a long time and fought … often. I can help your folks and you can help me by teaching me how Mandos fight."

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why would a soldier need to know that?"

"I have no idea," said Shemric. "I told you that on the first day, but I suspect it is something I will need soon."

"You sound like a Jedi," and he put scorn into the word, "or a Sith sorcerer, talking about the future like that." He met Shemric's eyes and there was a question there, and again, he was not going to ask.

"I mean no harm to Mandalore," said Shemric.

Wash watched him for a long time before nodding. "Then we need to get to work. Come with me. I need to debrief Haima and speak with the others—and introduce you. They all have matches scheduled in the next week so we are working hard." He rose from behind his desk and led Shemric out and down more dark passageways to what looked like a private training area. I was rather spacious, probably twenty meters by twenty and with a high ceiling. Haima was waiting there, looking chagrined and four others in their individual armor, as well.

"Greetings my woeful students," began Wash. "If you do not recognize him, here is our newest recruit and arena victor; he calls himself Shemric and he is going to help me train your sorry kriffing backsides. Now, one of you tell me where Haima went wrong."

The four besides Haima hesitated until the tallest of the men spoke. "I am not sure she made any major errors except getting her ass handed to her by a newbie." The others nodded their heads and Haima looked like she was trying to decide whether or not to be insulted.

"Agreed," said Wash. "I thought you fought well, with a few surprises thrown in there and appropriate use of your superior weaponry to keep Shemric here off balance. It was a solid effort."

Haima did not smile, but her posture changed to less defensive and one of the others slapped her on the back. Wash let it go on for a few moments before continuing.

"Well, let's get back to work, then.. Grot, you are up first, loosen up while I speak with Shemric for a moment." Wash took him aside where the others would not hear. "Grot is the best of my people, but really, the least talented. He is also the oldest and most experienced. He just cracked the top fifty at the end of his second year, which is not amazing, but … " he shrugged his shoulders. "I would not say he was conservative, nor aggressive. He acts when he needs to and shows caution. If he has a weakness, it is overreliance on his jets to get him out of trouble. So, if you are pressing him and he tries to jet away, then punish him; you know, throw something like you did with Haima."

Shemric nodded and though he would have preferred a shower and a nap, he did as Wash asked and trained each of Wash's students in different ways that day. By the end he was exhausted, but Wash was practically bouncing with enthusiasm. The others offered to buy him drinks, but he declined and they did not look offended given how much he had done that that day. Wash said he would see him at the ninth hour the next morning. Shemric found chow, then his new room and promptly fell asleep.


	30. Chapter 30

The next day went roughly the same, except that Wash announced that Shemric had five invitations, all from ranked opponents, to fight the next week. Matches were scheduled nearly a week out, so that was about the quickest newbies could respond after winning. Wash looked over the list and wanted to decline, but instead gave Shemric the choice.

"Which one is highest ranked?" asked Shemric.

"Ghuld," said Wash. "He is sixty-third."

"That will work," said Shemric. Wash frowned but returned that invite positive and the rest negative. By the next week, Shemric was getting a feel for the Mando style and managed to defeat Ghuld after a fairly long, drawn- out affair where Ghuld flew around the ring with Shemric trying to toss stuff at him in the air. Shemric finally managed to damage the rocket pack and had cleaned up with him in short time after that.

They all celebrated the win together, along with one from Zubit, another from Trugr, who both moved up five places in the ranking. Shemric himself, after his defeat of Ghuld, had jumped into the rankings at fifty-eight. None of them seemed to begrudge him his meteoric rise since they all felt like they were going to be improving soon. Sure enough, after a month of training together, they had all done well for themselves, with Haima gaining her first ranking, in the 90s, and all the others moving up from ten to fifteen spots after wins or hard-fought losses.

Shemric had received two more groups of invites and taken the highest ranked opponent each time. After his third match he had cracked the top twenty-five and the invites had dried up.

"That is because the top folks are jealous of their positioning," explained Haima one day when she had invited him to eat lunch together. Zubit had come along also despite a sour look from Haima. "The folks in the top 25 who know they are fortunate to be there are not going to be jumping all over themselves to offer to fight an unknown entity like you are, Shemric. Nobody quite knows what to think of you."

"It is more like they are kriffing terrified of him," interjected Zubit.

"Well, some of them are very good and still moving up, so it will not be long before one of them tries their hand," said Haima.

At the end of six weeks, they had all continued their upward progress and Shemric had cracked the top 15 after one more win. The crowd now cheered him when he entered and he had received numerous offers from Mandalorian women to go out on the town. His refusal of those offers amused the males of Wash's group but seemed to have earned Haima's respect.

"You look like a man who already has more women problems than he knows what to do with," she said one day over lunch.  
"Why would you say that?" he asked, curious.

"Oh, it is just the way your face changes when the others tease you about being scared of Mandalorian women in bed," smirked Haima. "You get this far off look that is part nostalgia and part sadness and longing. You have someone out there."

"Well, that is true enough," he admitted. "She sold me here to the Pit to learn something-that is how hard she is."

Haima whistled. "Who could have got the drop on you but a lover? I knew it was something like that. She probably got you while you were sleeping."

"Right in one," he admitted and she laughed.

"And yet you still pine for her," said Haima.

"True, true," he said in a mopey voice.

"Well, you could leave at any time, if you wanted," said Haima. "You have earned more than enough credit for a ticket off-world."

"I know, but … well, I do not just pop in on her; she summons me, not the other way around," he said.

"I would not want to meet the woman that taught you to obey," said Haima.

He shook his head. Even Haima might not believe him if he told her his yum-yum was a Sith Lord. It was too strange to contemplate.

Two of Wash's protégé's were brothers, one that was four years older than the other and though they often fought alone, the Pit organizers preferred to have them fight together since they worked well and tended to give a much better show. Once this was established, Shemric and Wash came up with a plan to work with them as a duo and inthis, Wash deferred to Shemric's experience. As a result, the brothers as a pair had begun to move up the rankings and they now fought together exclusively.

Word of Wash's success got around as did the source of that success, so Shemric's time soon came to be in high demand. Wash did not really press the issue, but Shemric still spent most of his time working with Wash's own crew, but occasionally would help out other trainers that were friendly enough with Wash to make the request. Several of them offered Shemric good money to come over full time, but he politely declined and none of them pressed the issue. As such, Shemric was able to work with and against three other fighters that were ranking in the top 15 and learn their fighting styles. In turn they all declined to invite Shemric to fight in the arena. Most just thanked him and went about their business, but one Junral, came right out and told him why.

"You are not going to get any invites until the financial gain outweighs the potential loss in status and rank," he said. "That is how it works at the top." The man was quite open about it and even bought Shemric lunch, over which he discussed what might happen. "You see," he went on, "the crowds will often band together to pay for two champions to fight each other. Or they will put up money for one of the top ranked fighters to take on a newcomer, which pertains to your case. There is some money to be made here and the top fighters are going to wait for a payday."

Shemric thanked him but decided he was not going to train anyone outside of Wash's group anymore. The system irritated Shem, but Mandos were known as mercenaries so why would their Pit be any different?

Three months in and Wash's group had received two transfers that were both more highly ranked than any of Wash's original people. They were both very likeable but the others grumbled a bit that Shem's training time would be further split up. For his part, Shem appreciated the newcomers because they both tested him harder than any of Wash's other folks.

After training one day, Shem happened to be walking out at the same time as Wash, and the older man clapped him on the shoulder in a companionly gesture. "I gotta say, I've never had such value from a slave as I did from you Shemric." He let out a long laugh when he said it. "Sometime I am going to have to hear how you ended up being sold onto Mandalore. Haima tells me there was a woman involved, but won't say anything else." He cackled again. "Women will burn you every time."

Once Wash walked off chuckling to himself, Haima joined him. She very often happened to be leaving just when he did and they ate dinner together nearly every day. Shem could not quite figure it out. She claimed she just enjoyed his company, but there were times when they parted that were very awkward, as if she was waiting for an invitation to do more.

"Wash has clearly had a bad time with women," said Shem.

Haima snorted. "Don't ever let him get started. His list of grievances is long and noteworthy." She bumped into him companionably. "How about I buy you dinner somewhere nice?" she offered.

"Is there a special occasion I am missing?" he asked.

"It is my birthday," she said quietly.

"What? Why did you not say something earlier?" he asked.

"It is not a big thing," she said, not looking at him. "I just … did not want to spend the evening alone."

"Well, then I would be happy to buy _you_ dinner, but you need to pick the place," said Shem.

Haima led them through the jumbled mess of buildings that made the Mandalorian capital seem either backward or homey, depending on your perspective. They had replaced their helmets and looked like any other Mandos finishing up the day of work and heading off to home or revelry. The restaurant to which she led him had a rugged, defendable sort of look, which was the greatest compliment one could give Mando architecture. They found a booth and sat opposite each other after setting their helmets on the obligatory hooks.

They discussed training and shared other small talk but Haima became increasingly quiet as the meal wore on so that Shem was glad when their food arrived and they had a distraction. When they had finished, Shem decided to just ask her what was wrong.

"Are you planning on staying here on Mandalore?" she asked.

Shem knew that was only the advanced party question and there was another coming behind it, but he answered it as frankly as he could. "No, I am not," he admitted. "I have a feeling I will know when it is time to leave."

She scowled. "I thought as much, but, well …" she trailed off and her face turned red before she blurted out. "You seem to be a decent man. I have not met many of those and did not want to miss an opportunity if it was available. I know you have a woman out there, somewhere. I just … " she trailed off and looked away.

"Haima, you have made my stay on Mandalore much more pleasant with your company," he said. "But I have another life and other things I must do. I hope I have not inferred otherwise."

She turned back to him and her look was resigned. "No, you have not. I was just hoping."

"Happy Birthday, Haima," he said.

She smiled but looked sad. "At least you did not say you wished things were otherwise."

"Well, that would be true, but probably not in all the ways that you think," he said. "I am a long way from home and 'my woman' as you put it, does not call on me very often."

"Well, her loss, then," said Haima. "Look, I don't want this to be awkward between us. Can we forget about this conversation?"

He shook his head. "I don't have to forget about it to treat you the same as before. Haima, you probably already guessed that my history is complicated and … well, dangerous. I am happy to keep you company while I am here."

Fortunately, Haima did not make a fuss and his life fell into a steady pattern that was not so different than he might have kept at the Jedi Temple. He trained, he ate, he slept and he wondered if Julienne was ever going to come looking for him.

* * *

As Junral had predicted, Shemric did not receive any offers to compete until a crowd-funded match was set up with the current 12th ranked Mando. After so much training, Shemric felt like he had a good feel for the Mandalorian style of fighting and he had adapted his own lightsaber-less combat techniques to best match up. Over time he had replaced all the separate pieces of his armor until it was all more or less serviceable and even sprung for a decent jetpack. Using the jetpack had actually been a seamless transition because he was already used to leaping about in training and warfare.

Though he did not always do so, Wash met up with Shemric outside the arena for some last second advice. "Listen, Shem, crowd-funded matched are tricky things to negotiate. I've seen your opponent often enough and he is not bad, but I rather suspect you could mop the floor with him in short order, did you wish it. Don't do that. The crowd paid to bring you together, so they want a show. He will know that as well, so early on he will be less aggressive. He will also save his best stuff for later, so don't think because he refused to show much that he does not have a few tricks." Wash looked as if he meant to say something and then quietly said good luck and wandered off. From the direction he was headed, he did not look like he was even going to watch the match.

Shemric was glad Wash had approached him because it was very apparent this match was not going to be like the others as soon as he stepped into the Pit. The stands were as full as they could be and the spectators looked and smelled to be well into their drink by that hour. This group looked like they would riot at the first opportunity.

As he walked out to the center, he wondered if he was even going to be able to hear his opponent to be able to speak, but the crowd quieted down, as if on cue. One must observe the formalities, Shem thought. Shem removed his helmet as the other man did and they regarded each other.

"Gods, man, you don't have any scars," said the Mando. "How do you ever get women?" The man had two or three scars criss-crossing his face including one that looked like it had come from a wild animal.

"Maybe they like my baby-face," said Shem and the man cracked a large smile.

"Maybe they do at that," he said. "Well, I suspect that Wash would have told you this, but we need to give these folks something to remember for their money. I normally would not bring it up, but you are new 'round here."

Shem nodded. "It there some sort of signal for when things get serious?"

"Nothing so formal, just don't pound my head on the wall in the first thirty seconds," he said.

"Sounds good," agreed Shem.

The man made a rude gesture towards Shem and the crowd went crazy. Shem quickly put his helmet back on and backed up. At a signal the match began and all sorts of craziness ensued. The entire team had to take him out after his victory and relive every point in the match.

"By all the Gods of Mandalore, did you see his face when Shem tore off his helmet!" cried Subit. The man was about three mugs into his meal and his volume control was broken. "I thought he was going to piss himself when he saw how angry you were."

"Well, it is bad form to tell your opponent to take it easy and then come out swinging with both fists," said Haima, somewhat restrained. She was sitting next to Dragen, one of the newcomers, and they were acting rather more friendly than he had seen before this.

"Did he really have the gall to say that?" asked Dragen.

"Indeed he did and since it was the same thing Wash had just told me, I figured I better stick to the script," said Shem. "I am just happy he did not burn off my face."

"Well, now you are a legend," said Trugr, the older of the brothers. He had a Twi'lek sitting between him and his sibling that they had apparently met at another eating establishment. Both the brothers were enjoying their increasing fame.

"I am pretty sure you won't ever get another invitation to fight, though," said Grot. The others are going to watch the video and then run and hide somewhere." He downed the bottom third of his huge stein in one go. "Not sure as I blame 'em."

"Well, you should know that I divided up the winner's share by seven and had it deposited in each of your accounts," Shem said sort of offhand. No fewer than three of the tables occupants spewed their beer or ale.

"What?" cried Subit. "They say you pulled in nearly a hundred grand for that match. It was supposed to be a record for crowd-funded matches."

"It was somethin' like that," said Shem. "Luckily for you, Mandalore does not charge you any income tax."

There were more exclamations around the table and they all tried to buy Shem a beer before they remembered he was not drinking. So they all ordered another beer for themselves. It was a few minutes before one of them asked about Wash's share."

"He gets his before the rest is paid out to the winner," said Haima. The others apparently had not known this.

"Have you spoken with him?" asked Grot.

"We talked for a few minutes after the match," said Shem. "When I told him I was going to split it up between you, he told me to take his portion as well." For the second time in a few minutes, beer was spit all over the table. "I am going to need a shower curtain if this keeps up," Shem noted and the others laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

Shem took his leave of them about two beers later and walked off into the night. He had lost his temper today and he supposed the result had been a better show than anyone had expected. It had been months now and he was not sure what he was supposed to do anymore. Some feeling was keeping him there, so he turned around from his unconscious walk in the direction of the spaceport and went back to his room.

As he had expected, it was a rough-looking group that gathered for training the next day. Shem felt like lecturing them on the evils of drink but decided it was hardly the time. Wash was nowhere to be found, so they started warm-ups on their own. When he still had not come after warm-ups, they paired up and started working on the list of things that Wash always left on a writing board on one of the training room walls. After more than an hour, their trainer walked in an called a halt.

Between the look on Wash's face and the fact that he had stopped training dead as soon as he arrived, everyone assumed it was bad news. Instead, he handed and invite to Shem. Shem raised an eyebrow at him and then opened the invite. He assumed his eyes got wide because the others were soon crowding around him to read.

It read: To Shemric of The Wash Training Group

Please present yourself for competition in the Pit this evening

You will be facing the Mandalorian Champion Dao Stryver

There were loud cries of surprise and congratulations until they all noted that Wash still was not smiling.

"This could be a death sentence," said Wash. "The Mandalore might have finally figured out what I have known all along—Shemric here is a Jedi."

If the training group had been surprised before, now they were shocked speechless. Shemric just shrugged and said, "I guess we will see how good your champion is."

"It is not so simple as that, Shem," said Wash, still looking grim. "I've seen Stryver fight many times. He is a survivor of the Pit from a young age and as ruthless as they come. It is no coincidence that no one has attempted to challenge his position for some time."

The others started speculating about what it meant and suggested that Shem should just leave rather than risk death or maiming.

"Wait," said Haima suddenly. "Is the match today?"

"It is, and it was not phrased as an invitation," said Wash. "Shem can either flee or show up tonight. I suggest you get a ride of this planet soonest."

In the face of such concern, Shem was touched by his new friends. He thanked them and told them it would be all right. Wash only shook his head and declared training was finished for the day before inviting Shemric to his office. The discussion went on for some time, but Shem assured Wash that he felt like this was why he had come.

"You kriffing Jedi and your 'feelings'," was all he said before wishing Shem good luck.

Shem went back to his room, checked all of his equipment, and then sat down to meditate. He did not know why he thought he might contact Julienne, but he tried, and then was disappointed when he could not. He gave up and decided to get something to eat well in advance of tonight's match.


	31. Chapter 31

**3643-Mandalore—The Pit**

Shemric walked out to meet Stryver with more than a little trepidation. His weapons were a lot better than he had when he first arrived, but he assumed Stryver was the champion for a reason and his reputation was either well-earned or … well, no one Shem had met said that Stryver was overrated. That meant that he, she or it, was very good. He was said to employ an array of weapons and was extremely quick to shift from one attack to another. His reputation was of one who had started in the Pit long ago and survived. This was going to be tricky.

Something about the way he moved made Shemric think he was not human and he was certainly taller than Shemric by a good ten to twelve centimeters. The grey and green Mando armor was not particularly noteworthy, but Shemric did notice that he was carrying his full complement of weaponry. The typical flame thrower and jetpack, a shock stave, dual pistols, net launcher, and a missile launcher were all in evidence. Since the rules in the pit were very vague, it was often up to the victor to decide how the match ended, though generally finishing off a downed or injured opponent was look upon poorly. Perhaps the face-to-face would help him learn something.

"So, they call you Shemric," began Stryver. "I do not believe anyone has ever risen to challenge the champion as fast as you have. I commend you. I have seen you fight several times and you have a habit of being just good enough to defeat your opponent without showing too much. Until yesterday. I have not felt the need to fight in the Pit for some time nor has the Mandalore wished it, so you should consider yourself lucky. What I wish to know is why you are here, _Jedi_?"

For his part, Shemric controlled his face well and decided that dissembling would accomplish nothing. He was probably supposed to recruit Stryver or some such craziness; he wished he had Julienne for a few moments to ask, but he was on his own. "I do not know why. My … partner, incapacitated me and sold me to Mandalore for some reason that I do not understand. Probably a Force vision."

"You have done good things for Wash's reputation again," said Stryver. "I find that pleases me. Has he told you that he took me in to train after I survived my first week in the Pit?  
He had mentioned no such thing, though Shemric had sensed there was something going on, because of the complete absence of speculation about the current Champion in the Wash camp. "He has not mentioned you."

"Small wonder; we did not part on good terms," said Stryver. "I find myself regretting that sometimes. I shall have to pay him a visit after this." Stryver reached behind his back and tossed a slim metal object to Shemric; it was a lightsaber. "I suspect you are going to need that to live through the day. And do not bother holding back; I intend to kill you."

Shemric nodded. So that was how it would be. To gain an ally, he would have to survive. He ignited the blade to the general shock of the crowd. It was very quiet as he stood there, getting a feel for the balance of the weapon. It had been months since he had held one but it seemed to complete him and now he felt a well of the Force flowing up in him. This was as it should be. He would win here and gain the respect—or enmity-of the Madalorian champion.

Shemric took up a defensive stance and saluted Stryver, who did not respond. If he hoped to unnerve Shemric with a long staring match, it would only rile up the crowd because Shemric felt more at balance than he had in months. With no warning movement, Stryver drew both pistols and began to fire rapidly. Shemric deflected some and sent others back at the Mando causing him to leap aside—and receive taunting from the crowd.

Before he had even hit the ground, Stryver had launched a missile at Shemric; Shemric leaped straight up and took out one of his stun grenades and hurled it at Stryver. The missile hit a rock wall and Shemric rode the shockwave to the other side of the arena and landed in the sand with a blast of particles to obscure his position. He sprinted out at an angle faster than any human could run and pulled a stun pistol which he began to fire rapidly in the direction of the Mando. Shemric had not seen the results of his stun grenade, but the fact that he had not been attacked in mid-air made him think he had at least managed a near miss; one thing was sure, the crowd was going wild.

Stryver launched several more missiles to keep Shemric off balance and then blasted off to attack him mid-air as Shemric had leaped to avoid one explosion. Shemric avoided the shock stave by twisting and kicking out; his boot lashed the Mando in the helmet and they both fell awkwardly to the ground. Shemric ignited the saber again and attacked quickly, driving Stryver back. The Mando had countered with his stun staff, which must have been constructed of beskar for it to withstand the lightsaber strikes. Just when Shemric had closed the distance between them and tried to kick Stryver in the leg, the Mando sent a blast of fire right at his face and Shemric had to duck and leap back.

A moment later, he was hit with an electronet, the launch of which had been covered by the flame thrower. The shock jolted him initially before he thought to pull in the energy like lightning and blast the approaching Stryver with it. The Mando staggered backwards to fall over in the dirt while Shemric threw the net off and tottered a few steps. His nervous system was not happy about the shock.

The Mando recovered more quickly than Shemric and fired a wave of stun darts that Shemric managed to mostly avoid. His armor deflected all but one that penetrated a gap. Shemric leaped backwards again and tried to isolate the chemical mixture in his blood and render it harmless; it would have been easy had he not been retreating for his life. To buy time, he tossed all his remaining stun grenades and rushed to a fold in the arena that offered cover. The resulting boom blew sand into the air and reduced the visibility to a few feet. He knew he only had seconds before Stryver switched to thermal imaging and so he concentrated on destroying the stun agent in his blood. He isolated it, attacked it with white blood cells and less it pass harmlessly into his straining organs.

When Shemric came back to himself, he was still alive and could sense that Stryver was waiting him out, rather than attacking in the dust cloud. That was fine with Shemric, who gathered his wits and then used his rocket pack to fly up the side of the rock amphitheater until he was above the dust. On his appearance, the crowd started throwing things and he caught a round red fruit and hurled it at the location he sensed Stryver was through the cloud. He had no idea if it hit, but he leaped off the wall and used the Force to gather all the dust particles so that the cloud disappeared almost instantaneously. Shemric knew he was spending Force strength rapidly, but it had been so long since he had fought uninhibited that he paid little attention; he felt like a starving man suddenly provided a feast.

Shemric was slightly amused as the dust cleared to see that his low-tech fruit attack had worked and the Mando was awkwardly trying to wipe his visor free of the red, pulpy mass. Shemric fired off several stun blasts which impacted the champion and caused him to stagger backward. When he rushed Stryver, the Mando forced him back again with a long blast of fire that went on until the fuel ran out. Shemric used his rocket to gain altitude and then created a Force shield to cover his body before landing right in the mass of flames. When the fire went out he was much closer than Stryver expected.

Shemric released the shield with a gasp-you could not breath while holding one—and attacked, kicking Stryver in the helmet and knocking him backwards. The Mando launched a razornet as he was falling, but Shemric ducked under the poorly aimed attack and battered the Mando with the club he had been using in practice. It was really an expensive bat made out of Mando iron tubing with a grippy handle. Stryver cried out at a strike to the torso that dented his armor, but managed to draw a pistol. Shemric knocked it away with the bat and hit him again, this time with an arm-numbing strike. A final hit to the leg followed and Stryver collapsed to the ground.

Instead of rushing in, Shemric backed up and so was not in the stun radius of the three grenades that Stryver tossed nearly at his own feet. The sand billowed around Shemric and he created a shield again to deflect the force of the explosion of air and grit. Stryver had made it to his feet by the time the dust passed and pulled out his pistol with the one arm that still worked. With only one blaster to deflect, Shemric rapidly ignited his lightsaber and employed Shien to deflect all the bolts back at Stryver. The man's armor absorbed and deflected them until one hit the place where Shemric's bat had weakened the armor and the Mando fell backwards, holding his side.

The roar of the crowd was deafening and Shemric was not sure who they were cheering or if they were just screaming to be screaming. He walked over very carefully to stand over Stryver.

"Well, get it over with, Jedi," said Stryver.

"I did not come here to kill Mandos, Stryver, now get up and keep that vibroblade in its sheath," said Shemric. "Let us give the crowd a wave and walk out together."

"Go crink yourself, Jedi," said Stryver. "I am not going any-flupping-where with you. What kind of _di'kut_ are you?"

"Stop pouting and get up, Stryver," said Shemric. "The only way this ends well for you is if we walk out together and make them think it was just a big show."

Stryver lay for a moment longer and then accepted Shemric's hand up. Shemric was very careful not to let down his guard as he slapped the champion on the shoulder and turned him towards the exit. They walked out side by side to the howls of the audience and it was a welcome relief when the doors clanged shut to cut off the din. In the instant before it was silenced, Stryver had drawn his pistol and aimed it at Shemric's head.

"Give me one reason why I should not blow off your head, Jedi," he said.

Shemric shrugged as if he was totally relaxed, but he was concentrating on the pistol's trigger and keeping it from moving. "Because you are alive when you could be dead," said Shemric. "And you could not shoot me anyway, I am preventing the trigger from moving."

Stryver cursed and holstered the pistol. "I am not even sure I am really Champion anymore. The Mandalore surely will not accept a Jedi, even if you wanted the job, which you clearly do not."

"I think I was sent here to meet you," said Shemric. "My friend and I are looking for allies against the Sith Emperor. He is going to destroy the galaxy in some Sith rite that he used a millennia ago to consume a planet." There. Those were the basic facts. Let Stryver make of them what he would.

"I have heard such things before," said Stryver after a moment. "And not from sources I would not trust. It is troubling. What would you do about it?"

"My partner is plotting to destroy him before he can destroy all of us, but not many believe the threat and most others are too afraid to act," said Shemric.

"What do you want?" asked Stryver.

"Nothing at present," said Shemric. "My partner sent me here seeking allies and for her own reasons. I suspect she saw that I was supposed to meet you. Perhaps because you may have the ear of the Mandalore."

"Saw how?"

"A Force-vision," said Shemric. "She is very talented in that area."

Stryver said nothing for some time and then nodded. "I will think on this. The Mandalore will have to decide what to do about today's disgrace. She will not like the fact that a Jedi defeated her champion in the Pit. We shall see." He turned away and walked awkwardly down a passage that led out. Shemric watched him for a time and then decided to go back to his room. He was battered and scorched and poisoned. He needed a nap.

* * *

A healing trance and a nap were not exactly the same thing, but Shemric got in a little of both before his stomach started complaining and he got up to find food. The chow hall quieted when he walked in and no one at all approached him. He had become somewhat popular with everyone, mostly because he was willing to share tips with them all, but they would not like the fact that he was a Jedi. He ate quickly and then decided to see if the others of his group had gathered in the training area. When he entered their space, they were all arguing and gesturing at one another. When they saw him they stopped dead and turned to meet him.

Wash stood out from the others. "Well, I am not sure how that is going to change things for us."  
"I have done by best by all of you and I suspect my purpose for being here is at an end," said Shem. He had not really thought about it, but he had his pack with him and he intended to leave Mandalore. It seemed like the right thing to do.

Wash looked surprised. The others were hard to read. Shemric decided to put out his hand to see if the old man would shake. Wash stared at it for a time and then took it in his callused grip and shook his head. "I have no idea if this is going to reflect poorly on me, or well, that you managed to defeat the champion."

"Well, I thank you for your teaching," said Shemric. He looked at the others. "And for all of your friendship. Before this I had thought all Mandos were just barbarians. Now I know you are people like any other … with a slight nod to violence," he finished. He did not think they would take it as an insult. The others all shook his hand, except Haima who grabbed him in a crushing hug and kissed him soundly.

When Stryver walked into their training space, Wash stiffened and the other Mandos all took up defensive stances. Shemric faced him and decided to let Wash lead the conversation. In fact, Stryver spoke first.

"Waschonn, please tell your students to relax, I am not here for conflict," said Stryver. "I have come to speak with you first and then the Jedi, Shemric."

Wash looked uncertain, but followed the Mando Champion over to a corner and the two of them spoke for the next few minutes. Whatever was said was apparently quite pleasing to Wash, who offered his hand and smiled when the two of them finished.

"Walk with me, Jedi," said Stryver and Shemric fell in stride with the taller being. "The Mandalore has chosen not to replace me and given me the option of what to do with you. Since you appeared to be already on your way, then I will leave it at that. I did not speak with her about your little Sith problem. I am not sure she would act and I am not sure she would agree. However, I agree with you and will be doing my own research. In the meantime, feel free to contact me if need be. I believe Mandalore might benefit from the Emperor's downfall not to mention we might all survive whatever he is planning." Stryver handed Shemric a comm card and then turned and left without another word.

Allies. That was why Julienne had sent him.

He was done with this planet.


	32. Chapter 32

**Tython**

That Shemric had disappeared and then reappeared on a number of occasions did not make it any easier for him to return to Tython. His odd ways never set well with many Jedi and as he made planetfall, he realized he was still wearing his Mando armor, minus the helmet. At that moment, the idea came to him and he decided upon a plan.

The gate sentries gave him dark looks as he approached and actually barred his way. He had not cut his hair or trimmed his beard either, so Shem supposed it was fair for them to be wondering about him.

"Jedi Master Shemric Norm, reporting back to the Temple, as ordered," he said. The guards looked surprised until they punched his name in their computer and saw that his name matched his face. They knew better than to bar a master, and so Shem walked into the temple for the first time in nearly a year. He intended to just go straight to the Grand Master as if he was reporting in, but then changed his mind and went to the training grounds hoping that Nofa might be there. As he walked out among them, Shemric sensed many eyes turning his way until Nofa turned to him with a large smile. The smile had been on her face _before_ she turned so she had clearly sensed him through the Force. When her eyes finally met his, she did not look surprised or angry, simply pleased. It was nice to have a friend.

Shem bowed slightly and returned her smile.

"Well, you look like a walking invitation to tell stories, dressed in that get-up," she said. "Welcome back, Master Norm."

"And it is a pleasure to see you as well, Battlemaster," he said. "I suspect I will have many new things to teach your students."

"Any addition to their education is welcome," she said. "Come." She leaped up on his shoulder and they began to walk about the area. "I am pleased to see you, Shemric. Did everything with your lady friend go well?"

"Well enough," he said grumpily. "I saved her from her captors, but apparently the whole thing was a plot to kill me by the Emperor."

Nofa sucked in air through her teeth. "That is foul news if I ever heard any."

"Indeed," he said. "To make matters worse, Julienne had truly become Darth Monikas and she was cold and distant with me."

Nofa patted him gently on the head. "I am truly sorry to hear that, Shemric. I had hoped that some … accommodation might be reached between you."

"Well, I was angry about it," he admitted. "I used our Force connection to make her relive some of our best moments together. She was not pleased. She turned the table to show me what her life had been like. Well, let's just say I could not handle it. I woke up restrained and on my way to Mandalore to be a Pit slave."

Nofa's grip in his hair tightened. "First the Emperor, then the Pit, Shemric; I am even more happy to see you here alive if you survived both those challenges."

"I just spent the better part of six months fighting and training with Mandos," he said.

Nofa immediately saw the advantages. "We need to develop some training safety measures so that we can use that for our students."

"I was thinking the same thing," said Shemric. "And it might also help if you imply that I was sent there for that purpose."

She cackled and hugged his neck. "Sneaky, sneaky, Shemric. We may make a council member of you yet."

"Do that and I will just leave," he threatened.

"You probably would," she said. "Well, I will discuss it with the Grand Master and you start thinking of ways we can replicate the effects of fire and rockets in training."

"Yes, battlemaster," he agreed.

Nofa stayed with him the rest of the evening and thus spared him an endless stream of Jedi who wished to question him on his activities. He eventually found that his room had still not been filled so he began to make his way there after parting with Nofa.

Right on cue, perhaps three doors down from his room, Orosan accosted him.

They stopped and looked at each other and then she stepped up and slapped him. In the split second that he had to react, he decided to accept her anger and its physical manifestation. When he did not react, she tried to hit him again and he caught her wrist.

"I think one was deserved," he said. He scrunched his nose. "Two might be excessive." When she tried to kick him they began an absurd dance across the hall until he had pinned her to the wall awkwardly; to avoid being kneed he was right up against her.

"You moved right along to the making up part, apparently," she breathed in his ear. His chest was pressed against her breasts and their thighs were touching. Shemric jumped back as if scalded.

"Would you like to go and talk about this somewhere, or shall we just yell at each other in the hall?" asked Shemric.

"I am fine with the hall," she yelled.

"Ok, well, have at it then," he said. Surreptitiously, he reached in a pocket and turned on a sound suppressor.

She stood there looking ready to burst and he wondered if he had disarmed her by appearing calm. "You left without even saying goodbye, where you were going, anything!" she shouted. Apparently she had plenty of ire left. "After spending so much time together, you just leave without saying anything?"

"So let us imagine I had come to find you," he said very quietly. "What would you have done?"

She gave him an indignant look. "I would have gone with you, of course."

He shrugged. "So you left me the choice of taking someone ill prepared to help me do what I had to do and not bidding you farewell."

"I could have helped," she said.

"Perhaps, or perhaps you would have been a liability; perhaps I would have been more worried about you being in danger and it would have been a distraction," he said.

"Is that how you treat _her_?" she asked.

"No," he said. "But you are not her. She had to survive the Sith Academy, as a girl, and then survive her own master, and then survive Sith politics. Your experiences are not the same."

"Or is it just that you did not want me around so you and your yum-yum could get down to business?" she accused.

He took a deep breath. "So now we come to it. You are really just upset that I left on the moment that she crooked a finger and needed me. And yet, I told you back in the beginning that I would do that very thing."

"It makes no sense!" she yelled and Shemric was glad no one had come along. "You have probably spent more time with me in the time you have been here than you did in all the years you have known her. And then you just disappear for nearly a year. With her!"

"Actually, I spent exactly three days with her and the rest of the time on Mandalore fighting in The Pit," he said quietly. The quiet voice seemed to irritate her, but she stared at him in surprise.

"Whatever for?" she asked.

"I had something I needed to learn there," he said. "And so I expect that she will probably call me again soon."

"And you will just leave again," she said. It sounded like an accusation.

"I will," he said.

"You are a fool," she said. She shook her head. "I want nothing to do with you." She spun on her heel and left at a near-run.

"True enough," he said to himself.

His room seemed familiar and empty and he was lonelier than ever there that night. It took him all of about ten minutes to move in and unpack. That was a depressing thought and made him see how transitory his life was. For now. It had to be that way so he could leave on a moment's notice. He went to bed dreaming of the island, but when he woke the next morning, nothing had come of it.

He would like to have gone to see Master Slocum, but he really did not want to run into Orosan. It occurred to him that she was likely to be thinking the same thing, so he went anyway and arrived in time for sick call. Master Slocum greeted him warmly and invited him to do the round of sick call with him. Healing others had the salutary effect on his mood and he stayed most of the morning to help with sick and teach the younger students. When he had a moment alone with the master, he thanked him for his teaching.

"I was able to heal someone important to me, master, in ways that I could not have done before," said Shem. "I feel more connected than ever to the Living Force and feel all the connections between living things more surely."

"I am glad your training allowed you to help others," said Master Slocum. "I joined the healing ranks because, well, I was not very martial and I prefer to make people better." He hesitated a moment. "That is not to say that I don't value the other things you do, Shemric. There are evil things out there that need to be stopped. I just hope you find a time in your life when you can devote your full time to healing."

"That would be nice, Master Slocum," agreed Shemric before heading off to eat lunch.

By that afternoon, Nofa had approval for Shemric to start training Jedi to fight Mandos and so Shemric began to work on a curriculum for a course of study. Within a couple of weeks it had been approved and the work began in earnest. Shem conducted two training sessions a day and eventually decided he was going to need more gear if he was going to be able to be effective. He needed training rockets that at least popped, a stun-stick, a lot of rocket fuel and a decent assault rife that fired a stun round. Shem requested funds and some time to go 'shopping' on Coruscant. Since his new anti-Mando training was the talk of the temple, it was not long before he had received permission and was headed back to Capital City.

* * *

When he had made the request, he had been very vague about where he was going to be obtaining the required gear. Nofa had given him one look, understood it was going to be Black Market deals, and left it at that. Shemric did not really have any contacts in that arena, and so he contacted Greggson when he arrived. The captain gave him a sour look and wrote an address on a piece of paper which he slid towards Shem while looking the other way. It turned out to be an address and after a bit of reconnaissance, Shem discovered it was a rather large warehouse about fifteen levels down from the surface. He wore his armor to look the part and had a fairly successful transaction. When the cash exchanged hands, he loaded the crates on a robocart he had brought with him and then dodged thieves for the rest of the evening until he finally made it back to his ship at the spaceport. He would have left immediately, but Capt Greggson had mentioned that Sakrogi was training in another part of the city and Shemric had promised to contact her. As he left the spaceport, he felt the need to program a return trip to Tython into the ship's computer. If he did not return in a day, it would take off and return to Tython's orbit without him. He tried not to think about where that impression had come from or why.

His reunion with Sakrogi did not go at all as he had imagined. Instead of meeting for a friendly dinner, he received a call and an invitation to accompany her on a mission with the Special Tactical Situations squad to which she had been attached. He arrived at the precinct she had specified and found her waiting on the front steps with Master Niemi. Both of their eyes widened when he appeared in beat-up, Mando armor. She skipped down the steps to shake his hand enthusiastically.

"Well, met Master Norm, there is a briefing in ten minutes," she said. They climbed the stairs and he shook hands with Master Niemi.

"I hear you are once again stirring up things at the Temple," said Niemi.

Shemric smiled. "It seems to be in my nature to create chaos there."

"Most I spoke with seemed quite pleased with your recent efforts," said Niemi, who turned and led them inside. They met up with a sergeant who looked him up and down.

"Sir, you look like you have been around the block," said the policeman. "Do you need a helmet? I know you can't really carry anything but a lightsaber around the capital, but I've been authorized to issue you a weapon for tonight."

"What do you have, sergeant?" he asked and in short order he was in a gear locker trying on helmets and looked at assault rifles. He found a helmet that was surprisingly comfortable and checked out one of the assault rifles. Master Niemi looked askance but said nothing. When he sat next to Sakrogi in the briefing room, his former Padawan was even giving him odd looks. As the briefing went on, Shemric analyzed the target, the surroundings and at the right moment, asked if it would be useful to have a man on a certain tower for overwatch.

The briefer looked at him, looked with whom he was sitting and nodded his head.

Twenty minutes later, they loaded in their armored carrier and headed out. Sakroki looked excited and Niemi calm. When they off-loaded, Shemric made sure his helmet com was good and then jogged off quickly to assume his position. Over time he had learned how to use the rocket pack and the Force to rise to greater leaps than the Force alone could take him. Soon he was crouched down in the prone, thermal sight on.

"Angel overwatch in position," he called. He was the angel; it was their little joke.

"Roger, Angel, report anything noteworthy," came the reply.

Shem panned back and forth several times and shook his head at the oddity of looking down on a potential fight with an assault rifle in his hands. Mandalore had certainly changed him. He panned back and forth until he had identified three guards on this side of the building. The squad sniper on his side of the building confirmed.

"Angel, take right side when things kick off," said the sniper.

"Roger, S1, right side confirmed," said Shemric. He had heard such talk before, but had always been in the thick of the action before now. From his position, Shem could see both of the incursion teams lining up outside the warehouse. He heard twin pops when they blew the doors for entry and then Shem was sighting in and firing at his target. He moved to the center target but the sniper had already taken him out.

Flashes of light could be seen from the warehouse windows and small arms fire, but it was all contained inside. Perhaps thirty seconds had gone by since the team had gone in and Shem noticed men bursting out onto the room.

"I have men on the roof," he called.

"S1 does not have a shot," said the sniper.

"Angel, we do not have men on the roof; consider them hostile and engage," came the controller.

"Roger, Angel engaging," he said. The men had run to the edge of the room and were beginning to descend an exterior ladder way. Once three or four had begun to descend, he began firing bursts at the men above, hoping they would fall on the men below. After two such shots the other men began to scatter. He picked them off one by one until those on the roof were down and then returned to the ladder. Two men were still climbing and their movements were clearly frantic. He continued to fire until both men stopped moving. The man who had reached the ground had run out of his sight.

"S2, you may have a man running your way," said Shem. "All other are down." Shemric had never shot men from a distance before and the feeling made him decidedly uncomfortable. During the brief it had been mentioned that they were seizing a weapons cache so these men were likely killers or facilitated other men who killed, but … well, it made him uncomfortable.

 _Would you rather cut off their arms,_ said a voice in his head?

Shem was so surprised that he immediately cast out his awareness and looked for Julienne. Nothing. Well, it was not the first time she had spoken to him that way. He went back to concentrating on the mission until the all clear was given. Shem used a wire to descend to ground level and rode back with the team for debriefing. After he had turned in his weapon and gear, Master Niemi took them to a reasonably nice all-night diner where they talked about Sakrogi's training and conditions in the capital. Neither former Padawan nor master commented on his newly acquired weapons skills until Master Niemi asked about Mandalore.

"Through an odd set of circumstances, I ended up fighting in the Pit," he recounted.

"I have heard that is a particularly brutal experience," said Niemi.

"I was spared some of the worst of it, but I defeated a few of their folks and ended up helping a group of them train," said Shem. "At the same time I gathered a lot of intel on how they fight. Eventually, I worked my way up to fight the Mandalore's champion He knew I was a Jedi by then. I managed to survive and leave, so now the Battlemaster is having me train Jedi how to counter Mando tactics."

"You defeated the Mandalorian champion," said Sakrogi. "I heard from Shigar that he was particularly skilled."

"He was, but I had been fighting Mandos for some time, so I got the better of him," said Shem. "I was fortunate."

Shem steered the conversation away from his activities and queried Sakrogi about her training and how much longer she had to go before her Trials.

"Well, I feel as ready as I am going to be," she said, but smiled to Master Niemi.

"All in good time," said the master. "I think you are quite qualified, but the Peacekeepers would be scandalized if I recommended you for knighthood so soon. We are doing much the same work you would be doing if you were a knight. The title will come in time."

Shemric parted ways and took a taxi to his hotel. It was nice to know that something he had started was going to come to a good end. He ate something from the hotel's restaurant and then went up to sleep.


	33. Chapter 33

Shem awoke at the barest brush of consciousness against his mind. He summoned his saber to his hands as the door to his room burst inward and two men rushed in. He rolled off the bed and used the Force to heave the side table in their direction while he lit his lightsaber and leaped towards them. They offered little resistance and he wondered why anyone would send assassins that were so poorly equipped.

Once Shem had collected all of his things, he took the lift up to the topmost level and then found the locked door to reach the roof. It was not a mechanical lock, so he burned it open with his saber and went out onto the roof. He was very high up and wondered again, why he had chosen this hotel.

He sat down to meditate and it was in this deepest state of concentration that the words came to him.

 _Come to me quickly, Shemric. I feel that I will have need of you soonest._

Shemric started from his trance and realized he had been dreaming, but he knew the voice and its source as well as he knew his own thoughts. She had cut off the contact immediately and it had been very subtle as if she was hiding from someone.

He threw out his awareness in a tight net and realized she was here on Coruscant. How strange was that? Further refinement made him think that she was in Republic City. He looked at his chronometer and it was near midnight. What were the odds that he would be in Republic City at exactly the moment she needed him to do … what?

Shemric stood quickly, trying to get a better sense of where she was. He put his pack on with his other items and then went to the edge of the roof and tried to sense a general direction.

 _There_ , he thought. He pulled on his goggles, spread his glide-wings and jumped. It was a frenetic drop through the layers of Coruscant that was still very much awake at midnight. A little swerve here, a little bank there and he made a rather tumultuous entry on another platform far below where he had started. Bystanders gawked at the man who suddenly dropped in their midst, but he had no time for them as he stowed his glide-wings and then set off through the crowd at a steady run. Within minutes he could sense she was close, so he slowed and cast a tight net about him until he felt her distinctly in the Force. It was only a tiny spark he could sense, so she was deliberately hiding from someone. He walked briskly in her direction and fell in stride with her without a word.

 _Your timing is exquisite,_ she said.

 _Then shall I assume we are in imminent danger, he asked?_

 _That would be correct,_ she said. _My former master, Darth Acina, has been hunting me and is very likely waiting next to my ship at the end of the platform._

Shemric nodded and modified his stride slightly until they were stepping in sync. He felt the equivalent of a mental smile from her and their consciousnesses settled into each other with the familiarity of long association. Most pleasing to him was that she seemed genuinely happy to have him near.

 _You always seem to doubt my affection, she said._

 _You sold me into slavery, my dear, he said. And you were not exactly affectionate before that._ He looked to the side and studied her from head to foot. She glanced sideways and raised an eyebrow. _You look very serious, Darth Monikas._

She chuckled and shook her head. _I always wonder when you will finally accept that I_ AM _a Sith Lord._

 _Not like the others, he said._

 _Perhaps not, she agreed. Now keep sharp. I sense others, though they do not seem to be Sith._ It was her turn to look him up and down. _Nice armor. Did you go native on Mandalore?_

He sniffed. His modified helmet left his face bare because he had never quite become used to the enclosing feeling of a full helmet. _No thanks to you abandoning me there._

 _Don't' be angry, she said. It was for your own good._

 _It was, he said. But I can still be angry about it._

They approached the center of the platform where Darth Acina was waiting, shrouded in her robes and darkness. She was of moderate height but her strength of person did not come from her size but her position on the Dark Council and her power over the Dark Side. They stopped a distance away to regard each other.

"Well come, my former apprentice," she opened. "You have been busy in your treachery it appears."

"Loyalty to the Empire is not the same as loyalty to the Emperor," said Julienne. "I remain the former and not the latter."

"The Emperor is the Empire!" spit Ancina.

"And if he ceased to be, would the Empire disappear as well?" asked Julienne.

Ancina's laugh held no humor. "So it is true. You do plot his downfall. You, who have met him and know what he is think to bring about his end. Fool!"

Julienne said nothing and Shemric tried to sense what other beings were out there. There was something, but they were hard to pin down. Ancina drew both her sabers that were protruding above her shoulders. The red blades glowed crimson in the near dark.

"I shall be well rewarded with your elimination and I thank you for bringing your pet Jedi as well. Why the Emperor considers him a threat is beyond me, but we can tidy that up all at once."

"You will find out why he is a threat, just as the Emperor will, someday," said Julienne.

"Oh, I doubt that," said Acina. "I brought a few friends myself." The night glowed bright for a moment as jet packs were ignited and four Mandos in full armor landed in a semi-circle to Shemric's left. "I did not want to discount the skills of the duo who rid the galaxy of that old battle axe Malgus, but these four have an especial dislike of Jedi. So it shall just be you and I, Julienne." Julienne ignited her weapon and the silver glow made Shemric smile.

 _It is time to dance on the edge one more time, lover,_ said Juju and she rushed Acina.

Shemric did not move as four missiles were fired in his direction at nearly the same moment. He reached out in the Force and gathered them in together until they exploded at once; he shaped the flow of energy back at the Mandolorians such that they were all blasted back off their feet to skid along the platform. For his part Shemric, was tossed the other direction, but of the five of them, he had been expecting it, so he controlled his fall and rolled to his feet quickly.

One of the airborne Mandos had been blown clear of the platform and the other three were still still coming back to their feet. Shemric Force-ran at top speed to launch a kick into the chest of the closest Mando and sent that one flying off the platform as well. He leaped sideways as the remaining two warriors opened up on him with their assault rifles. Rather than trying to deflect them with his saber, Shemric drew his newest weapon against Mandos with _beskar_ armor—a sports bat. He dodged and rolled before coming close enough to one Mando that he was able to deal him a solid whack on the shoulder and knock him down. Unfortunately, one of his compatriots appeared at that moment, shooting up above the platform and Shemric broke away and leaped at the rising figure. The Mando began firing as Shemric hurled the bat like a spear. The impromptu rocket hit the Mando in the leg and caused his flight path to veer towards the platform where he landed messily.

Another Mando appeared at that moment and Shemric lost his chance to press his advantage on the others that were down. He really needed to even the odds quickly.

The newcomer tried to torch Shemric with his flamethrower, but Shemric created a Force shield and used the temporary wall of flame to disguise his sideways movement towards the man whose shoulder he had injured. It was clear he was holding his rifle awkwardly and the first shots missed as Shemric closed and use his bat to swat away the barrel. He spun and crushed the jet pack with the bat before giving the Mando a solid kick to the chest. He went over the edge with a loud cry.

 _Ok, three to go._

* * *

Darth Monikas faced her master with a small amount of unease. After all, Darth Acina was a member of the Dark Council and powerful in her own right. She had also never practiced the lightsaber with her apprentice. She always carried two, but Monikas wondered how often she had used them. She could sense Shem dancing about, cause the Mandos fits and did or could not worry about him. She held her saber, the same that Shemric had made her years earlier, and prepared for the confrontation.

Darth Acina was shorter than Monikas by a good ten centimeters but her presence in the Force made her seem to loom. Monikas was in no rush to attack. If Shem could finish off the Mandos, they would take her together. It did not bother her that she might have to depend on him; it was like complaining that you had to depend on your left arm. Acina must have sensed something because she advanced suddenly and rushed Julienne.

The unique dual-purpose saber emitted a silvery blade when she ignited it; Julienne knew she would need every advantage if she was going to survive. The initial clash of sabers brought forth the familiar sparks and Acina jumped back and tried to cook Monikas with lightning. She caught it on the blade and it grounded out harmlessly. If anything, she felt like the Force energy was transferred to her. She reengaged her former master and put her best strength into it, backed by the odd kinetic properties of Shem's lightsaber design. Acina was again surprised and continued to retreat.

Monikas' confidence was growing until she was forced to dive instinctually to the side as she sensed blaster bolts coming her way. A before-unrevealed Mando appeared and continued to fire at her. She deflected as many back at him as possible until Acina came at her again and she had to defend herself. _How many enemies were there_ , she wondered?

* * *

Shemric felt, rather than saw a rocket hit near him and he leaped and rode the shockwave up and away from his fight, very glad at that moment for his armor. He tucked, flipped and came down slightly behind Darth Acina who was battering at Julienne's defenses. Shem noted a previously unseen Mando lying face-up on the platform with one of Shem's Force-javelins in his chest.

Shemric could sense Juju's determination and more than a bit of desperation, so he timed his surprise attack such that he was able to get in a very solid whack with the bat to the Sith Lord's ribs that brought a cry despite the small woman's armor. She blasted him back and he quickly drew in the power and used it to hurl himself high in the air and away from that fight.

The enormous leap had him looking down at two of the remaining Mandolorians who were earthbound. They targeted him and he ignited his lightsaber to deflect the bolts as his trajectory took him down in the midst of them. He used the kinetic energy of his landing to create a shockwave to blast them both off their feet just as another shot up from beneath the platform and fired a paralysis net. Shem caught it with the Force and heaved it back to its owner. His aim was fortunate and the net flared with electricity and shorted out the man's jetpack. He fell to the deck from fifty feet up and did not move.

 _Two more to go._

* * *

Shemric's surprise attack and her well-aimed javelin at the Mando had evened the fight, but Julienne could not summon the anger or focus to employ the all-out-attacking style that she had learned from Shemric. She switched between forms, first attack and then defense and hoped to wear out her master, but it was not working. She needed something more.

"You could have been something if you had not strayed so far from the way," said Acina in a tight voice. "You were never truly a Lord of the Sith."

And there it was. After all her work, all her sacrifices, all the blood she had shed, and even her peers did not accept that she was one of them. She had nearly given up Shemric to be a part of their cabal and they had never accepted her. _That_ made her angry.

* * *

The remaining two Mandos had gathered themselves and split apart to attack him together. He rushed one and sent lighting into the other as he was beginning to aim. The shots went awry and Shemric attacked the closer man with his bat until he had destroyed his jet pack and most of his gear. Shemric was about to end him when the man cursed him and opened his hand to drop what looked like a small thermal detonator. Shemric immediately leaped over the edge as the concussion rocked the platform.

Shemric caught a pipe before he had fallen very far and then tried to sense where the last Mando would emerge. He timed his leap and used a small grappling chord from his belt to cast at the mercenary's legs as he hovered cautiously below the level of the platform. The Mando swore at him as he tried to escape, but his flight jerked as the chord went taut and he swung to slam into the top of the platform while Shemric tried to climb the rope over the edge. Shemric's armor ablated several blaster bolts as the man fired at him when he came into view. The chord was still tight around the man's legs and the Mando was firing from a sitting position. Without a hand free and still not on the flat of the platform, Shemric reached out to the debris from the explosion and hurled something.

A severed arm hit the last Mando in the head and he jerked in surprise long enough for Shemric to come to his feet. With the chord still in his grip, he hauled on it sharply and pulled the Mando towards him. The man fired off his flame thrower and Shemric kicked at his head through the flame. He landed a blow that was followed with a sickening crack and the man went limp. Shemric threw himself down and rolled and slapped at his head and clothes. When he burned his hand he realized his helmet was on fire. He unfastened the head strap quickly and tossed it to the side before checking to see if anything else was on fire.

* * *

Monikas could feel the older woman drawing heavily on Darkside power to fuel her attack and defense and she did not seem to be tiring, but it did not matter. Monikas had found the anger she needed for her own strength and she pounded back at her former master blow for blow. Then Acina coughed and there was blood on her pale lips. Her broken rib must have punctured a lung. Monikas reacted quickly with all her skill and brought into play the training when Shem had forced her to try and finish him quickly. Acina was only just managing to parry and then she leaped back and hurled her saber at Julienne. It was a surprising move and caused the younger Sith to leap to the side.

Lightning crackled and caused Monikas' muscles to spasm, but she managed to bring up her blade and ground out the remainder of the attack. When she rolled to her feet, there was no sign of Acina.

* * *

When he came to his hands and knees, Shem looked across the platform to see Julienne standing at the edge, looking down into the dark. Shemric stood and walked slowly until he was next to her.

"I am not sure if I would have defeated her on my own," she said. "She was quite powerful, though not particularly sharp in her combat skills. I think, when you hit her, you broke ribs and punctured a lung. It was enough to tip the fight in my favor." She shook her head. "Do you remember our very first fight against Darth Fright?"

"I thought our first fight was against each other," he pointed out.

"Fine; our first fight together against a Sith Lord," she said.

"Oh, I remember it," he said.

"Do you remember what I said?" she asked.

"Something to the effect of 'you are going to keep getting me in trouble and then keep claiming you had to save me from it,'" he replied.

"Well, I seem to have been right," she said. He opened his mouth to complain and she lifted her gaze and smiled at him. "It no longer bothers me." She seemed to see him clearly for the first time. "Korriban's Nightmare, what happened to you?"

"You try and fight four Mandos and see if you come away with nothing worse than a bit of singeing," he said. With the adrenaline of the fight over, he was starting to feel the pain of burns.

"No thanks," she said. "I was lucky enough against one angry Sith Lord and her Mando accomplice, and she still managed to escape."

"You know what kills me when I think about it," he said. "If you had not sent me to the Mandos in the first place, I would never have learned how to fight them and then this fight may have been a lot different."

"There is no point in pondering the whys and wherefores of our existence, you and I," said Julienne. "We simply move to the strings of our puppetmaster."

"You do not even sound bitter when you say that," he said.

She shrugged. "What is the point? I struggled against it in the beginning but that caused me even more grief." She turned away. "Let us leave, Shemric. This was the last of my business in this place and I have another appointment two days travel from here."

"Do you know why we keep winning at these fights?" he said as they walked to the ship's ramp.

"Do tell?" she said.

"We never left any witnesses, until now," he said. "So no one really knows what we can and have done. We remain anonymous and our enemies take us for granted."

She nodded, clearly giving the thought merit. "Maybe that has to do more with you than me," she said. "I have been challenged on numerous occasions and there are nearly always witnesses. And of course, Acina will likely find a way to report this to the Council without making it look like a failure on her part." She sat down at the controls. She was flying a non-descript freighter that did not look terribly special on the outside but looked heavily modified once you saw the inside. They arched away from the planet's surface quickly and were in space in a few minutes. As the stars turned into streaks of light, he asked where they were going.

 _Mandalore, she said._

 _Well, that seems ironic, he said. Did not half of dozen of their fellows just try to kill us, along with your former master?_

 _I didn't notice, she said_ and turned to him, smiling. Her eyes widened and she seemed to remember his burns. _Oh, yeah, those Mandalorians. Why don't we see if we can get you patched up? We may need to shave your head. Your helmet did not look like it helped much._

 _It kept my head from being torched, he pointed out. But then it caught on fire._

She led him back to the ship's infirmary and they both stripped out of their fighting gear. They had patched each other up a number of times and they went about it in a methodical fashion.

 _You want a painkiller shot, or are you going to work your Force magic, she asked?_

 _I will take a shot, he said. You look like you came out of the fight rather well._

He flinched when she poked his arm with the needle and she raised her eyebrow at him.

 _You might have warned me, he groused. I do not like needles._

 _You'ill get over it, she said. As for the other, I was expecting and preparing for Acina. I just figured she would come alone. I guess I should be flattered that she brought along help. She must have assumed I would have you with me, though how she could have known is beyond me. I guess our reputation unnerved her._ She ran a hand over his head carefully. _Are you going to need a moment to heal your burns? We will need to shave your head if anyone on Mandalore is going to take us seriously._

 _I have not shaved my head since I was a new Padwan, he said. Is it better to have burns and look tough or to not have burns?_

She gave him a once-over. _Are they really bothering you?_

 _They are burns, he said,_ shrugging _, they hurt like the Nine Hells of Korriban._

 _Don't use my curses, you sound silly, she said._ The feeling of fondness that had often permeated their interactions before was back. Shemric did not want to comment on it yet. _Why don't you lie down and fix yourself. I would like to try and follow what you are doing. Maybe I will learn something._

 _Very well, he said._ Shemric lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. Self-healing was always tricky because Force-energy had to come from somewhere and when healing yourself there was a balance to find just the right amount of healing. He worked his way through it slowly and then stopped when he felt things were moving along towards where he wanted.

 _So you really just accelerated what your body was already doing on its own, with the help of the Force, commented Julienne._

 _You can go a bit further when you are healing another, he pointed out. When you heal someone else, you have your strength, the Force and strength of the person being healed. On yourself, you only have two sources. Healing yourself too much would leave you so exhausted you would have to have considerable rest afterwards. You have to find the balance._

 _Well, I could sense much of what you were doing and probably apply the concept on a basic level, but it seemed … complex, she said._

 _You get better with practice and you can definitely develop an affinity for healing the same person, he said. That is why I can heal you so effectively._

 _Do not try it now, she said. I am fine, and now I know what to look for when you are working your Jedi sorcery._

He sniffed pointedly, but she smiled and her smile soothed most of his trepidation after their last meeting.

 _Oh, enough with your insufferable satisfaction, she said. You got what you wanted and I am back in the game. I am not sure you paid as much as I wanted during your Mandalorian time. I was really angry when I sent you off._

 _I get it, he said. I have been there before. Of course, I did not drug you, tie you up and hand you over to the Wookies for sport. They would have loved a Sith toy._

She stared at him for long moments before responding. _I did not want to go back to any sort of life. I could have happily stayed on the island and avoided my problems, but you forced me back into the struggle. I tried to punish you by showing you what I had done and been, but you could not handle it. Your brain shut down and further contact might have turned you into a vegetable._

 _Well, we already knew you were tougher than I was, he pointed out._

 _Just as long as you remember that, weak-minded Jedi,_ she replied. Shemric luxuriated in the sensation she was feeding him and was glad she could feel affection and humor again. She rolled her eyes at him as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

They found the captain's refresher and it was luxurious in the extreme. They emerged feeling clean, sanitized and nearly human again. When he reached for his pack and new clothes he heard her say, "Really?" He turned and she was standing there, hands on her hips. She pulled back the curtain on the captain's bunk and crooked a finger at him.


	34. Chapter 34

As they lay together after, Shemric finally got up the courage to ask her what had changed her mind.

 _Changed my mind about what, she asked?_ Shemric sensed that she was amused and wanted to make him squirm a bit.

 _Well, you know, about being human again and not a soulless automan,_ he said? He knew he was walking on the edge, but the change from their last meeting was drastic.

 _I told you the last time, as you recall, that I had to put all my feelings for you in a box and hid them away, she said. I think it protected you from the Emperor, to a degree, and protected me from being torn apart by the things I had to do. When you forced me to see and_ feel _again I had to dig up that box and reevaluate it. Had I been a fool to associate with you? Would I be an idiot to do so again? I needed help and there was no one to provide it._

Julienne was quiet so long that she might have fallen asleep, except that Shemric was fairly sure he could sense her mind working through things, but too shielded from him to know what. Finally, he asked gently, _So what changed exactly?_

 _Oh, I went to visit your mother._

"What?!" he said out loud in surprise. "How did you even know where to find her?"

 _Really, Shemric, she replied? Do you think I could be so tightly connected to you and not be able to find those others with whom you are joined? It was not really that difficult. Even if you had not told me they were on Nubia._

Shemric lay back imagining a visit between his family and Darth Monikas, great Lord of the Sith. It was too much. _Please tell me you did not show up on their doorstep dressed in black._

 _Actually, that is exactly what I did, she said._ She sounded very amused.

 _How did that not end badly, then, he asked?_

 _I am pretty sure your mother was expecting me, said Julienne. At least, she was sitting in a chair looking out to the road and met my eyes almost as soon as I descended from my hired vehicle. I am almost sure she had purposefully sent everyone else away in case things did not go well._

 _So, you just pulled up a chair and had a little chat, woman to woman, he asked?_

 _Yes, said Julienne. That is pretty much what happened._

 _Did she like your Sith outfit, he asked with a snicker?_

 _It is not my 'Sith outfit'," said Julienne. "It is the normal attire of Darth Monikas."_ It was Julienne's turn to let out a small giggle. _She told me I looked properly intimidating. She has …a presence that I found very … impressive. I think she was prepared to fight or talk, depending on the reason I had come._

 _Wow, that would have been something to see, he said._

 _Me fighting with your mother? Julienne sounded exasperated._

 _NO! said Shem. You_ meeting _my mother. I mean, she knew about you, but she cannot have imagined you would just show up one day._

 _On the contrary, said Julienne. I think I already pointed out that she was expecting me._

 _Well, still, it would have been interesting to see, he said._

 _I can accommodate that,_ and suddenly Shemric was being pulled into Julienne in a way they had joined before and suddenly he was looking out of her eyes as she slid out of the aircar and it moved away.

 _Monikas sensed a very strong presence in the Force not far away and looked up at the house on the hill. It was rather far to actually meet someone's eyes at that distance, but there was definitely someone there and it felt like her eyes were on the black-robed figure that was standing in the road._

 _Monikas stood there staring up at the hill and wondered if this was a good idea. Shemric's mother was likely a very powerful and experienced Force-user and could decide she wanted to eliminate a source of pain to her son. No, that was not what she sensed from the woman above. There was curiosity, certainly, and … expectation, as if she had been awaiting a visitor. Monikas crossed the road, walked through the gap in the fence and began to ascend up the hill to the house. She purposely kept her hand off her lightsaber. When she approached to within a few meters of the porch, she looked up to see a woman who clearly resembled Shemric looking down at her with a slight smile on her face. Monikas was instantly jealous of the woman's self-assurance in the face of a Sith Lord walking up to her house._

 _"_ _You look properly intimidating Julienne Qa," said the woman. "Or shall I call you Darth … "_

 _"_ _Monikas," she provided. She removed her hood and met the other woman's eyes._

 _"_ _Ah, well, I would congratulate you, but I suspect that I would not approve of the things you had to do to achieve it," said Shem's mother._

 _The woman's eyes were kindly, but penetrating and it was Darth Monikas who looked away first. There was accusation there, and many questions._

 _"_ _I apologize for just walking up, ma'am, but calling ahead might have been dangerous," said Monikas. "It still may be, though I have gone to great lengths to conceal my journey here."_

 _"_ _I have taken precautions," said the other woman._

 _The only way the woman could have done so was if she had expected a visit. This might prove to be fruitful after all._

 _"_ _Would you like to join me on the porch, Darth Monikas?" she asked. "I suspect we have much to discuss."_

 _"_ _Yes, please," said Monikas and wondered at her newfound courtesy. Then again, this was not a woman that would be intimidated._

 _When they were both seated, it was Shemric's mother who began the conversation._

 _"_ _Please call me, Jorianne," she said. "I sense a great deal of turmoil in you, Darth Monikas. I would say it is unorthodox for a Sith to come to a former Jedi for advice, but the very nature of your relationship with Shemric practically defines unorthodox. So, you are either here to ask questions about Shemric or to ask for advice." She raised an eyebrow._

 _Despite having given this a great deal of thought, Monikas hesitated now that she was actually confronted with someone who might help. Help or advice would push her back into the fray and surely lead to more pain and suffering, if not a brutal death. Did she really want to have an answer that would lead her to that? Jorianne just sat looking at her patiently without speaking._

 _"_ _Sometime around 18 months ago your son and I parted after having accomplished the task of destroying Darth Malgus," she began. Jorianne's eyes widened slightly. She had not heard this story, but she clearly knew the identity of the Sith Empire's most recently infamous Sith Lord. "For the success of my mission, I was granted ascension and became Darth Monikas. After leaving Shemric, I had to … suppress my feelings and memories of Shemric, both to protect him and to protect myself. New Sith Lords are constantly under threat from many sources until they establish themselves and their reputation. Apparently my reputation was thought to be somewhat overblown and so my 'testing' was constant and brutal. I also suspect that the Emperor gleaned more from our one encounter than I knew and so I became somewhat untrustworthy."_

 _Monikas had waded through the emotion associated with that time when Shemric had forced her to reconnect to her feelings, but it was still very raw. She suddenly felt tears come to her eyes and cursed Shemric yet again for making her feel again. Jorianne's kindly face did not change, nor did she comment._

 _"_ _I walled off my feelings from the outside world and became an island," said Monikas. "It was the only way to survive. The plot finally came to its head when I was sent on a spurious mission with the purpose of being captured in order to lure Shem there to be killed. He came, of course, and even more unlikely, he proved himself superior yet again and survived with a little help from me. However, it was not a pleasant reunion. I had lost all feeling for him. I simply could not reconnect them and frankly, did not want to do so. He would not let that stand and used our connection to make me relive our time together and the feelings associated with them. I did not die from it, but I was angry. I sent him off to Mandalore, ostensibly to find allies, but I sold him into the Pit." Monikas was sure this would bring some reaction, but Jorianne sat listening without comment. "I have been working since then to uncover what I can about how the Emperor might be destroyed, but I find the pressure has not changed and I am slowly making my way back to that island where none other is welcome. It is how I survive, but having somewhat reconnected to my feelings for Shemric, I am conflicted. I cannot shut him out and do what needs to be done, but if I do shut him out, this all seems so pointless. I cannot see a middle ground."_

 _Jorianne looked at her and asked a simple question, "What do you want, Darth Monikas?"_

 _The question was not groundbreaking, but it exploded into Monikas' consciousness like a thermal detonator. Her whole life, she had never been really asked what she wanted. Did she want to be with Shemric? Did she want to serve the Empire? Would destroying the Emperor best serve the Empire?_

 _"_ _NO, Monikas," said Jorianne interrupting her thoughts. "What do_ you _want? I sense you consider many things but are incapable of choosing to want something for yourself. It is not so different than the way of the Jedi, to be the servants of all. Decide what you want and then you can survive anything."_

 _"_ _I want what you have," said Monikas. She was almost unaware of speaking the words and she wondered even then if she understood them. What did this woman have that she wanted? Dignity, certainly. Self-mastery, without a doubt. Except those things were not really what she wanted. She wanted the connection that this woman had to Shemric and clearly to many others. Monikas_ felt _her essence in the Force and she was … bright. But that was not it either. It was hard to really pin down one sensation when you felt her because she was diverse. A woman. A wife. A mother. A warrior. A healer. A servant of many. Her essence had no beginning and ending because it flowed into all those around her to which she had made connections. And she did not seemed weakened by it. On the contrary, she felt immensely strong. She had not lost herself in those attachments; the attachment had made her a giant._

 _Yes, that is what Julienne wanted. To be that kind of woman. A giant._

 _Using her old name, even in her own mind, left her gasping. Julienne was the woman who felt love and pain and heartache and could not be Darth Monikas. They were too different._

 _"_ _You are wrong," said Jorianne. "Julienne and Monikas are both part of you. Separating them has made you vulnerable, not stronger. Be whole and find out what you were really meant to become." The woman was either an incredible guesser or gleaning much of Julienne's feelings and thoughts. When Shemric's mother reached across and took Julienne's hand, it was a shock to feel how strong their connection was through Shemric and now increased by physical contact. Julienne realized suddenly that she made up some of this woman's network of Force connections and that was why she had been able to find her so easily._

 _"_ _You don't have to be alone, Julienne, but you have to make a choice to want this," said Jorianne._

 _Julienne felt along her connection to Shemric and through that to Shemric's mother. For the first time in twenty years she felt the sensation of love and compassion that her own mother had had for her before she died. It broke through the last wall of resistance, but also opened her to the pain of loss she had shut out since their separation. Julienne cried for her parents again and the pain of it flayed her soul until she felt that familiar comfort of a woman's arms around her and she laid her head on Jorianne's lap and sobbed._

Shemric came back to himself slowly and because aware that tears covered his face and his nose was running. He wiped at his eyes and nose and waited for Julienne to make fun of him, but she did not. He felt their connection and it was stronger and more vibrant that it had ever been.

"Does that mean that you have learned to be Julienne and Darth Monikas?" he asked.

 _I have, she said. Your mother really showed me that Darth Monikas can be who she wants to be. If she wants to keep a Jedi yum-yum on the side then she can do that, too._

Shemric sniffed pointedly. _Did you not tell me once that yum-yum was a sexist term that did not apply to men?_

 _Hah! We make up our own rules now, Shemric, she said. The entire trip was most enlightening. After meeting your baby sister I find myself considering having one or two of them with you at some point in the future._

 _Wait, you met the rest of the family, he asked? You want to have children now?_

 _No, I said later, not now, and yes, I met the rest of the family, she said. We had a lovely visit. Your brother Marioh was scarily impressed that his big bro' is married to a Sith Lord. Your father was not so enthusiastic, but I used a winning smile and your mother's approval to win him over._

Shem lay back trying to imagine the scene. It was too much. _Did they get a picture of you holding the baby wearing your Sith robes? I would pay money for that._

 _Funny that you should ask, said Julienne. I actually think your mother did take a few pictures. She showed me how to sooth a child using Force techniques. After that, Eliahza thought I was at her service whenever I sat down. She thought my facial tattoo was particularly intriguing and kept touching it with her little fingers._

 _And you let her in your personal space, he wondered?_ If Julienne was holding babies then she had gone through an incredible transformation.

 _It was strange, she admitted, but then you get used to it and you can't help but enjoy the exuberance of their little spirits. The others were interesting. I only saw Shaliah on the second to last day. She had flown in from the capital, probably at your mother's prompting. By then your mother had provided me with something other than black Sith robes and armor, so I probably seemed a lot more normal to her. She was kind to me and asked about you. They all asked about you and wanted to know if we were having amazing adventures. I told them a few things._ Julienne seemed pleased with herself. _They all want to imagine their big brother is a grand hero, so I tried not to disappoint. Marioh tried not to act scared when he first met me, but you could see he was somewhere between thrilled and terrified. Once he saw me holding the baby, I think he softened a bit. Then he wanted me to train him to be a Sith. Your father was not amused._

 _I can imagine not, said Shem._

 _He still wanted me to help him train whenever I sat down and looked like I was not busy, she said. He is pretty good with a lightsaber. We went up into the hills behind the house and I would sneak up on him and try to surprise him. You father was a little concerned with how effectively I could hide from all of them until I told him that you had taught it too me._

 _I did not teach it to you, said Shem. I just came up with an idea to make it useful in training._

 _It made them feel better, she said._

 _And how was Nina, and my father, asked Shem?_

 _I don't think your mother warned him that I was coming, said Julienne. I think she created a reason for them not to be at the house and then assured them all was well when they came home and I was there. Your father scowled at your mother something fierce but did not say anything in front of the others. It did not take much for him to guess who I was. I think he warmed up after he talked with your mother. And saw me holding the baby._

 _Nina, though, she does not speak much, said Julienne. I think she was comfortable to have me around and would ask a question or two, but for the most part she was content to have me there, a connection to you._

 _I have not gone to see them for some time, he said._

 _I doubt now would be a good time either, said Julienne. Things are not safe in the galaxy for you and me._

 _And are they in danger, he asked?_

 _This was months ago, Shemric, she said. And they told me they would take precautions._

 _So tell me again why we are going to Mandalore, he asked?_

 _We are actually meeting with The Mandalore, said Julienne._

Shemric started. "How did you manage to arrange that?"

 _Actually, it was you that 'arranged it', so to speak, she said. I came in contact with the Mandalorian champion, Dao Stryver. She seemed to have some familiarity with you._

 _She?! What? Shem asked, confused._

Now Julienne seemed amused. _You did not know he was not a he, but a she? Well, she is not human either, so it could not have been easy to tell. She is a Geckto._

Shemric nodded. That made sense. He had thought her movements looked slightly alien at times. He did not know that particular race enough to comment.

 _Stryver actually found me and we discussed an alliance with Mandalore against the Emperor. Apparently she has spent some time since meeting you trying to nail down a few rumors and she believes he needs to be eliminated. I am not sure how the Mandalore feels about it, but we are going in under cover of armor and Stryver tells me that she will plead our cause with her boss._

 _And what sort of exit strategy do you have if that does not go well, he asked?_

 _I am trusting Stryver, she said._

 _And is that wise, he asked?_

 _I don't think she was trying to deceive me, said Julienne._

 _That is a big reach, he said. Fighting our way off Mandalore will be an entire new exercise in futility._

 _Well, then, it is good that you are with me, she pointed out._

 _Your faith in me is inspiring, but it may not be enough against a planet of madmen, he replied._

 _You worry too much, she said. I'll do the worrying. You can maintain the optimistic outlook._

 _Well, at least I am good for something, he said sourly. Even it if it does not include knowing the plan._

Julienne poked him in the ribs. _When you can keep a secret better, then you can know the plan._

 _So, basically never, he replied._

 _Deception and subterfuge are not really your strength, Shemric, she said. You are just going to have to trust your 'yummers.'_

Shemric sulked in silence until he asked her why she was taking him with her to Mandalore is he was such a liability in her plans.

 _Don't put words in my mouth, she chided him. I never said you were a liability. When I need to be Darth Monikas then it would be very difficult for you to accept some of the things that I do. When I need to meet up with the Mandalore on a 'planet full of madmen' then I need you will me in case things go bad. I told you I trust Stryver, but make no mistake, she is in this for her own reasons and I doubt they are the ones that we have. Going there is a risk, but taking you with me is the best and frankly, only way to mitigate that risk. Now stop thinking about it and go to sleep. I have a plan. It will be well._

As usual, she backed that verbal suggestion with a mental one that quickly made Shemric forget about Mandalore and fall off to sleep. It was the way that she managed to win most of their arguments.


	35. Chapter 35

**Mandalore**

Their entry onto the planet was convoluted in the extreme. They flew their freighter to the planet's orbit and attached to an old satellite that was large enough that their ship did not look conspicuous. Then they used a small lifeboat to fly to one of the planets orbiting spaceports where they booked a shuttle to the surface. They sent the lifeboat back to the ship on autopilot and then waited for their flight to depart. Dressed as they were in full armor, no one gave them a second glance.

Seeing Julienne emerge from her cabin in full Mandalorian regalia had been quite a sight.

 _How do you get all your hair under that helmet, he asked?_

 _Not easily, she said._ She unfastened the helmet seal and removed it, creating an explosion of dark hair. _See what I mean. And the hair doesn't help the helmet's cooling system much either._

 _I have seen Mandos drill a hole in the back for a pony tail, he pointed out._

 _This is a temporary disguise,_ she said in exasperation and he let it go. Once into the city, they wandered about as if they were not in a hurry to get anywhere, until a Mando in unfamiliar armor approached them, and apparently gave Julienne some sort of code word. She nodded and they followed the armored figure through the streets.

When they turned down a side alley, it looked like they were simply heading for a random watering hole for mercs, but moments later they were stopped and searched. Julienne gave up her lightsaber and Shem his assault rifle.

 _Don't worry, Shem, the saber I gave him was a dud. I have a dozen of them for these occasions. For some reason they don't feel the need to search you as closely when you give up one weapon._

 _Brilliant, he said. Unfortunately, I really wanted to keep that rifle if things got ugly._

As they approached the building with their armed escort, Shem began to note the increasingly suspicious number of Mando 'just hanging about," the premises. Most of them did not even glance towards the odd pair being escorted and that was what first began to tip off Shemric. They were not very good actors.

 _I have to agree with you, put in Julienne. We are clearly walking into a trap if things don't go our way._

 _So do we go in,_ asked Shem?

 _We must, she said. We need more allies and few would be better than the Mandalorians._

As they entered the dimly-lit cantina, Shemric noted it was not as full as one might expect, but every last Mando looked armed to the teeth and they had not taken off their helmets.

 _Yes, I would also take that as a bad sign,_ said Julienne. _Stay sharp,_ she commented and if anything he would have described her state of mind as excited. Shem was starting to feel decidedly nervous. His trap-meter was going off in loud wails.

 _Relax, Shem, it will be well_ , said Julienne. She sent him such a wave of confidence and calm that he felt warm shiver of heat cover him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to get a feel for the room and its occupants. They were ushered to a large round table where a woman in armor was flanked by several other Mandos in armor and one of them was Stryver. She made the introductions. The woman, the only one in the room not wearing a helmet, was, in fact, the Mandalore. As one, Shem and Julienne removed their own helmets. Julienne nearly sighed.

The woman studied them and did not betray any surprise, but she did almost nod her head in recognition.

 _We are betrayed_ , said Shem. _She recognizes us._

 _Let's play this out, Shem, said Julienne. We may learn something, but let me do the talking and you try and decide how we are going to get out of here._

 _Will do_ , he said tightly and tried to look around the room without looking around the room.

"We want to thank you for meeting with us, Mandalore," began Julienne. Shem nearly started at the change in her voice. It was neither her normal tone nor her Darth Monikas 'death threat' voice. It was smooth and reassuring and used subtle Force-suggestions to create a greater impact. "Your champion assured us that you would hear us out and thus we have much to discuss."

The woman help up her hand. "Let me stop you there," she said. "I don't wish to waste any more time. Since I accepted this offer to speak, I have had further communication from your Empire. They assured me that you are a dangerous fugitive attempted to stir up insurrection and mayhem."

"And does not Mandalore always benefit from such conditions?" said Julienne. Shem thought she was really reaching with her Force-suggestion, but it was understandable. They were in trouble.

"Normally, it would, but in this case, the reward for the return of your persons is substantial," said the Mandalore.

Shem had not been watching the Mandalore but rather Stryver throughout the exchange, and Shem thought that the champion's body language showed surprise.

"Mandalore, I brought them here under the guise of my protection," began Stryver.

"Which I did not approve," said the Mandalore. "It is bad enough that you embarrassed Mandalore by letting this Jedi defeat you. Consider yourself relieved of duty as soon as they are taken into custody."She returned her gaze to Shem and Julienne. "I …"

 _I'm pretty sure she is about to recommend we surrender, for our own good_ , said Shem.

"… would …"

 _What do you think Stryver is going to do, asked Julienne? She does not look pleased._

 _Just drop on my mark! said Shemric._

" … counsel you … "

 _What are you planning! asked Julienne?_

"… not …"

Weapons were coming up all around the room.

 _Something good, he said._

"… to …"

 _Be careful, said Julienne._

 _Of course, he said._

 _You are an idiot, she said._

 _As usual, he replied._

" …resist."

 _Drop! he said._

The instant Julienne went to the floor, Shemric unleashed a blast of concussive force and sheet lightning that he had first seen from Darth Malgus. The Sith had done it a number of times, but Shem knew he was only going to get one. When unleashed in the confines of the room, it blew over tables, chairs and patrons alike while shattering all the windows. Shem reached over to grab Julienne by her breastplate and using a Force-enhanced technique, hurled her bodily towards the largest of the empty panes. He sprinted after her a moment later and leaped for the window as Mandos began to recover from the shock of the blast and start aiming their weapons.

Once outside, Shem noted that Julienne was already deflecting blaster bolts back at their assailants who had been waiting outside and then started running for an alley across the square. Shem followed and they disappeared into the dark while running at breakneck speed. Shem pounded past her and began to take turns purely on instinct.

 _Do you know where you are going, she asked?_

 _Trust the Force! he called back._

 _Idiot!_ she replied, but she continued to follow him. They were occasionally engaged by Mandos that had flanked them, but for the most part they were just putting distance between them and the Mandalore.

 _Do you have a plan? she asked, because you may be able to run forever, but I can't._

 _I was hoping to come upon an aircar or something, he said, but this area of the city is mostly too crowded for them._

 _Well, think of something, soon, she said._

A Mando dropped right in front of them with a blast of fire and air and Shemric did not even slow, but accelerated and launched himself before he noted the man was holding up both hands.

 _I think that is Stryver! she said._

 _Noted._ Shem adjusted his leap and came to a skidding to a stop in front of her.

"Can she fly well with her pack?" Stryver asked quickly.

"She will manage," said Shem.

"Then follow me and shoot down at the ground occasionally like we are chasing someone," she said.

Shem spun to Julienne who ran up and stopped to catch her breath.

 _How well do you think you can fly with the rocket pack, he asked?_

 _I've never used it, she said._

He spun back to Stryver. "We are going to have to stabilize her. She has never used it before."

"You do that, then, Jedi," said Stryver. "I need to be able to fight."

Shem ran to stand with Julienne, took her by the upper arm and nodded. They blasted off in pursuit of Stryver and Shem drew a pistol and fired down at the ground occasionally. There were quite a few Mandos up and flying about in the night and they were likely not to be noticed, despite their lack of helmets. After a few minutes, Julienne shook him off.

 _I've got this,_ she said and proceeded to prove it by following without incident. They landed next to a ship that looked beaten but serviceable and Styver was already keying in entry on an armpad. The ramp descended, and they all entered the ship quickly.

"Strap in," said Stryver. "I'm sure the Mandalore has put out the word I'm a rebel now. This could be a bumpy departure." Stryver took the pilot's seat and they were lifting off in moments. The Mandos were not too keen on space traffic control and no one hailed them as they lifted into the atmosphere. Soon they were weaving amid the space junk that orbited nearly every inhabited planet and Julienne directed Stryver toward the large satellite to which the ship was affixed. When the smaller ship had connected with the large cargo vessel they had brought to Mandalore, Stryver stood and approached them. "I still believe the Emperor is a great threat and will gather as many Mandos as possible to try and aid you. What are you going to do now?"

"Disappear for a while," said Julienne. "I do not sense immediate danger and things are a little hot for us, or will be once we add the Mandalorians to the Empire's agents that are looking for us."

"Will you contact me in the same way as before?" asked Stryver.

Julienne nodded and they took leave of each other. They left Mandalore quickly and Juju rapidly calculated a jump and they were in hyperspace in moments.

 _Where are we going, he asked?_

 _I programmed a jump to the Hydian Way, she said. From there I want to hide somewhere in the Outer Rim. For now, I want a nap._

 _What are we going to do, he asked? Not another vacation?_

 _Something like that, but nowhere nearly as nice as our island on Zeltros, she said. I don't want to think about it for a bit. Let's go to bed._

* * *

They spent a great deal of time traversing much of the galaxy and ended up picking an out of the way planet far out in the rim territories. They connected with the Rimma Trade Route first and then started to look for a place to hide.

 _Do you know anything about Tantra, asked Julienne?_

 _Too cold, said Shem. We could probably hide there, but we would have to say inside the ship._

 _No thanks, she said. Keep looking._

Shem went over the map and tried to get a feel for the other planets in the area. Sluis Van, Queta, Adarlon, Dagobah.

 _Do you know anything about Dagobah, asked Shem?_

 _I don't think anyone lives there, she said._ She came and stood over his shoulder looking at his search screen.

"Mmm, nice choice," she said out loud. "Violent lightning storms, dense fog, periods of torrential rainfall."

"So, basically the opposite of Zeltron," he said. "That's a keeper."

They both stared at the screen for a few minutes.

 _Are you thinking what I am thinking, asked Julienne?_

 _Are you thinking about taking me off to bed, he asked?_

Shut _up, she said. I am trying to be serious here for a moment._

 _Sorry, it was distracting having you lean over my shoulder, said Shem. But, yeah, something tells me that is where we need to go. Trust in the Force, I say._

 _You have never said that before,_ said Julienne and swatted him on the side of the head. She went over to the navicomputer and punched in the coordinates. They were not far away and soon they were orbiting the planet. Most of the surface could not be seen from space, but what could be seen was a dark green color interspersed with the blue of water. Julienne entered the atmosphere slowly and neither of them spoke as she steered through the lightning charged skies and tried to find a place to set down. She eventually found a clearing large enough for their ship and landed carefully. They did not so much set down as settle in to the soft ground.

 _Why did you choose this place to land, he asked?_

 _I don't know, she said. I was just going off feelings. Something about this place is …_ She did not finish her sentence.

 _Yeah, he agreed,_ as if that explained everything.

They left the ship cautiously, sabers in hand and walked about to see if the ground was going to hold.

 _I do not think we are sinking anymore, said Shemric. This probably passes for solid ground around here._

 _Lovely, she replied._

They had not really talked about how long to stay or what they were trying to accomplish. Julienne had seemed happy to ignore the future while they transited hyperspace, but after the inspection they sat down to eat and "talk."

 _The Force is strong in this place, commented Julienne._

 _There is a great deal of flora and fauna here, said Shem. It follows that such an abundance of life would have a very strong Force supply. It will be very hard to notice us here, even if we were flinging the Force about indiscriminately._

 _It is a little creepy, said Julienne._

 _That is funny coming from a Sith Lord, said Shem._

She smiled at him through her food. _It reminds me too much of Dromund Kaas, our capital. The lighting in the skies, the jungle… only this place does not feel quite so steeped in Darkside power as there. I suspect the Emperor is draining the resources of the planet in some way that hurts the environment and saps the will of the people. Still…_

 _I think we both felt like we should come here, he commented, so there must be a reason._

 _Probably, she agreed, but are we going to like the reason, though?_


	36. Chapter 36

**Dagobah**

Dagobah turned out to be every bit as bad as the star charts had described it. The humidity was so near 100 percent that as soon as they went outside, they were soaked from the inside out. That is if it was not raining and you got soaked from the outside in. When you added in the unfriendly forest denizen, the nearly-always treacherous footing, and the perpetual gloom, it seemed to be the planet least likely to make anyone stay for long.

In other words, it was perfect for a renegade Sith Lord and a Jedi Master looking to hide.

Shemric and Julienne went out in the muck twice a day to train and though nothing else resembled their time on Zeltros, the affect was the same. They tested and tried each other over and over until they would return exhausted and grimy. Fortunately, since water was not an issue, they were able to take actual hot showers for as long as they wanted. It was a consolation prize for winning a no-expenses trip to such an unpleasant place.

Despite all that, Shemric could not say that he was not enjoying himself. Julienne's new attitude felt like a celebration of life compared to their past encounters. She laughed with him, told stories of visiting his family, relived some of their better moments in their shared past and speculated where they might decide to live when it was all over. She refused to answer him when he asked how long they were staying; the first time he had done so, she had given him a direct look and told him she would know when it was time. When he had asked again a few days later, she simply ignored him.

She had asked him on the spaceflight, if he had learned any new tricks and he had described something that Grand Master Shan had been teaching him.

"Do you remember the time when I caught your lightsaber in my hands?" Shem asked. When she nodded, he went on. "The time it happened was a creation of pure instinct for me. I had no idea what I was doing, but when I mentioned it to Grand Master Shan once she said it was a thing she had also done once, against Darth Malgus actually, when they fought on Alderaan. It is formed like a Force-shield but it is attuned to the elements of a lightsaber. While the science of it went over my head, you basically have to generate a containment field similar to the lightsaber itself so that the plasma flows back to the emitter, instead of continuing through your hand or body."

They had spent a good deal of time learning to create the shield and then practiced with a training blade. As usual, Julienne picked it up well enough to employ it and thanked Shem politely for adding another element to her arsenal.

 _Hopefully, I don't come up against other saber users without my own, she said. But now, if I do…_ she left the thought hanging.

When they had been on Dagobah for a week, Shem woke to find that Julienne was already up before him—a rare occurrence. When he went looking for her, he found her meditating in the hold and so sat down and joined her without speaking. She had closed off their connection and so he simply sought for his own enlightenment. Nothing of portent came to him, but he slowly came back to himself feeling call and centered. When he opened his eyes, she was smiling at him, something she also did frequently these days.

"Good morning, Shemric, did you sleep well after last night's vigorous activities," she greeted him with a hint of teasing. She had also informed him that she was resuming her official yum-yum duties and had an entire cabin in her ship devoted to that purpose. His face must have turned red because she continue giving him her knowing smile. Shemric knew that was a bad sign. She might smile more now, but when she smiled like that she wanted something; generally it was something she knew Shem would not like.

"We are going on a little expedition today," she said. "Maybe overnight."

Shem groaned. Overnight on Dagobah meant cold and wet.

"Are you providing the camping gear?" he asked.

"We are taking minimal gear," she said. "A small, elevated tent to keep us off the wet ground."

"Sounds lovely," he said, rising. "I will pack my stuff." Shem saw her eyes widen in surprise as he turned to leave. She clearly expected more of an argument, but he never won them, so he would try blind obedience for a change. He dressed and then picked out a change of clothes he would certainly need on the morrow. His boots were looking decidedly worse for the wear after a week of being wet and dried over and over. He pulled on a rain poncho, which he normally did not wear in training, when he decided he was not going to be wet and miserable all day long. When he met Julienne by the ramp, she looked him up and down and nodded.

 _What are you playing at, Shemric Norm, she asked? This non-questioning version of you is not normal._

 _Why argue when I always lose or end up giving in, he asked? If my yummers wants to spend the day tramping through the bogs, getting soaked and trying to avoid dragonsnakes, quick-mud, swamp slugs and other fauna we have yet to discover—well, who am I to argue?_ He punctuated his speech by pulling his rain hood over his head and hitting the lock mechanism for the ramp. _Shall we?_ He trudged off down the ramp and, of course, it was raining.

 _If you are going to be bad company the whole time, I am just going to leave you here, she said._ She had followed him down the ramp a few moments later after donning her own rain poncho.

 _Who said I was going to be bad company, he said? I get to spend a lovely day on this paradise planet with my yum-yum. After years of being alone, I really do not care what we do or where we go as long as you do not tell me to leave._ Shem stepped on a spot of ground that looked firm and sunk up to his ankles. After he extricated his foot, he decided to start employing his sports bat that he had brought along to help him check for questionable footing. It seemed to help.

 _You know what I find a little disturbing, she asked?_

 _Tell me, he said._

 _After your initial sarcasm about this 'paradise planet,' you sounded perfectly sincere, she said. Are you well?_

He snorted loudly and a nearby bogwing started and flew away screeching overhead.

 _I was sincere, silly woman, he said. If I have to go hiking in the mud to stay with you, then hiking it is._ Shem was currently balance along a moss-slimy log as they crossed a fair-sized stream. It was almost large enough for a dragonsnake, but he did not sense any nearby for now. That feeling of being hunted had been the first sensation on this planet to which he had learned to pay strict attention. The snake's hide was tough and they were big enough Shem would only take them two or three bites.

Julienne was quiet until she asked him where he was going.

Shem blinked away a raindrop and stopped dead. This had been her idea and he had been leading them along at a decent clip. _I am sorry. I just sort of … well, felt like going this way._

 _Well keep on going, she urged._

 _What do you mean, he asked? This is your expedition._

 _But you seem to know right where I want to go, so I am happy to follow you, she said._

Shemric took a few steps back to her and lifted her hood so he could see her face. _Are you making fun of me?_

 _I'm serious, she said! You are going in the right direction._ He smiled said she found something amusing, but he could sense she was not making fun of him.

 _I am not even sure_ where _we are going, he said!_

 _Apparently, we are both listening to the same Force-whisperings, she said._ She leaned in and gave him a very wet kiss. _Lead on my intrepid explorer._

 _Now you are making fun of me, he said._

 _Maybe a little, she said._ But she waited for him to take the lead again. He shook his head and continued to wander through the fog. He had not really been paying attention to where they were going and it occurred to him to wonder how they were going to return.

 _I brought a tracker with me, said Julienne._

 _Good, because I have no desire to go native on this planet, said Shem._

Shem continued to trudge along through the rain and decided that with the rain poncho, the misery level was considerably lessened and he was enjoying the slog through the depths of the Dagobahn swamp jungle. After spending entirely too much time on Coruscant, the unkept, messy, unpredictable terrain was not so bad. Plus, with Julienne right behind him, it was not that hard to cast out his senses and 'warm himself' over the "fire" of her Force aura.

 _You are such a drama queen, said Julienne. You act like the galaxy would not go on if I was not in the center of it._

 _Maybe someday you will grow up and understand, said Shemric._ He smiled to himself, knowing that would irritate her.

After perhaps four hours of walking, they stopped for some lunch when they found cover from a particularly harsh downpour. Several trees had grown together and formed a canopy overhead that only let a few drips through, so Shem actually took off his boots, rung out his socks and situated a new chemical warming agent in the insoles. Julienne's synthetic-hide boots were a lot better for the climate than what Shemric had available, plus they went all the way up to her knees.

 _So when are you going to stop being so secretive and tell me what this is about, asked Shem?_ The rain was really coming down in buckets and it was hard to hear much of anything.

 _Why don't you tell me, she said. All I said was that we were going on an expedition and then you walk off in a huff, right in the direction I intended to go. You are still heading right for the place I sensed earlier._

 _I suspect we are headed for a Force nexus, he said._ Once Julienne had remarked he was going in the right direction, Shem realized that something was drawing him onward through the swamp. Further tuning of his feelings helped him refine what he thought it might be. The Jedi Temple on Coruscant had been built over a mountain with a Force nexus and many Jedi became so used to it that they took it for granted. This thing towards which they were hiking felt like that.

Julienne gave him a shrewd look and nodded. _I wondered if I was imagining it._

 _What do you intend to do there, he asked?_

 _Look for answers, was her cryptic reply._

When the rain died down, they headed off again and Shemric judged they had covered a good third of the distance already, which meant they were not going to reach it by 'nightfall." Night in the overcast jungle was almost entirely black and Shemric had no desire to attempt to move about with no light. As they continued on, he started looking for likely places to set up their tent and as such, suggested a spot to stop before became too dark. At the rate they had been traveling, Shem estimated they were still two or three hours away from the location they sought. When he spotted a low hill with tree cover that looked mostly dry, he suggested they set up camp. Julienne agreed and then showed him their tent/cot combination that only took a few minutes to set up.

 _I also found this firelog in the ship's stores, said Julienne. So we can have a campfire._

 _Don't you think that will draw too many curious critters, he asked?_

 _I don't care, she said. We are camping and I am going to have a campfire._

Which is how they found themselves sitting in the opening of the tent some time later, warming their hands and feet over the fire log. Shem felt like the flesh of his feet were going to fall off in the beginning, but after half an hour, they were dry and toasty and he was satisfied to sit there, rubbing hips with Juju and enjoying the dancing flames.

 _Do you think the nexus drew you here on purpose, asked Shem?_

 _I hardly believe in coincidence anymore, she said. Things happen for a reason around us. Just imagine if I had been scarred and unattractive when we met. Do you think we would be here now? Or if you had a thing for blondes?_

Shemric could sense her amusement at her line of reasoning. He certainly had no intention of answering her question. He was not a big believer in coincidence either, so it was not so hard for him to believe that the planet had drawn them to this place, for some purpose, just as they were about to enter the most important conflict of their lives.

 _Perhaps the Emperor is a great imbalance and seeks to further skew the problem with his crazy rite to absorb all the galaxy's energy, said Shemric. The galaxy seeks balance by having us destroy him. And something, here, will guide to that task._

 _Perhaps, she said. Let's just enjoy the fire and then go to bed._

After another half-hour or so of companionly silence, Shem created a Force-sheild around the log and deprive it of oxygen until the flame died. They crawled into their sleeping tubes and lay with their foreheads touching until Julienne worked her psionic 'magic' and they slept.

* * *

The rest of the trip the next day was uneventful, but as they neared the nexus, Shem's sense of foreboding increased until he was very uncomfortable. Flashes of Force-vision crossed his mind and were gone in an instant, leaving only confusion and more questions. He had no idea was Julienne was feeling; either it was much worse for her, or her experience and psionic skills protected her. When they finally reached the nexus, it was centered around an enormous gnarltree that sat in the middle of a clearing that was uncannily round.

As he looked at it, Shem was not so sure it was not a growth of several gnarltrees that all intertwined over hundreds and hundreds of years. Just standing outside of it, made Shem nervous; he had no desire to go any closer, but he was sure that was Julienne's intent.

 _I want you to stay outside, Shemric, she said suddenly. I think I need to go in alone._

 _What?! Are you kidding?!_

 _I am not, she said calmly. I can sense the Force timestream here more strongly than anywhere since I stood in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban. That place nearly drove me mad._

 _Then why are we here, he asked quickly?_

 _Because the Valley on Korriban was the final resting place of many Dark Masters of the Force and many of them are nearly mad by the time they pass on, Julienne explained. It was a Dark Nexus. This is not that. It is just very powerful. Please, she said._

Shemric could sense the pleading in her tone and since he really did not want to go in anyway, he nodded.

 _If you want to follow me, then rest lightly on my consciousness, she offered. Look out of my eyes. I am not sure if you will see what I see, but …_ She shrugged and removed her poncho and pack, which Shemric took and walked back to the edge of the clearing to the closest cover. He found a small root and sat down to close his eyes. In a moment he was looking out of Julienne's eyes as she made her way carefully through the roots of the tree and down into the cave. Instead of getting darker, it became lighter and the cave walls became more visible. It looked like the walls of a fortress, which made no sense at all. Julienne sucked in a breath and Shem wondered if she recognized something.

The light continued to increase and it became evident from the reddish tinge that it emanated from a red lightsaber just out of sight. When the Sith came into view he or she wore an armored mask and approached Julienne warily.

"Well, woman, you have come to the end of your road," came a man's voice. "All your years of scheming and it goes for not. I am the Emperor's tool now and when you are dead I will go and destroy the Jedi in their own temple."

"I will not fight you," she said. When the man laughed and attacked her, Julienne held up a hand and caught his blade in her fingers. Energy crackled and she sent lightning into his body until it convulsed and then collapsed. The previously-ominous figure fell on his back and did not move. Julienne bent over and put her hand on the mask.

"Oh, dear Shemric, this was not how things were supposed to go," she said. When she removed the mask, it was Shemric's face, though it wore a malevolent expression that it had never had before the assault on the Emperor's citadel.

 _That is enough, Shemric, wait for me until I come, said Julienne._ She cast his consciousness from her and back into his own body. Shemric felt like someone had given him a full-armed slap across the face. He lurched across the clearing even before he thought about it until … something, stopped him. Whether it was his own good sense, the power of the nexus or a 'suggestion' from Julienne, he did not know, but he staggered back to his resting spot and collapsed against the bole of the tree.

Julienne stood in the center of the nexus and cast her mind upon the timestream. The first vision of Shemric had been only one possible future, of Shemric suborned by the Emperor's power and turned against the rest of the galaxy as Revan and Malak had been hundreds of years earlier. But there were more. Julienne watched herself die. Watched Shemric die. Saw them succeed. Saw them fail. Saw them living happily with children surrounding them and laughing and feeling such joy that Julienne knew tears were streaming down her face. Saw the galaxy a dried out husk as the thing previously known as the Emperor rampaged across the universe. To a normal person, even a Jedi, it would have produced madness, but Darth Monikas had been surfing the cosmic timestream since she was a small girl, though she had not recognized it at the time. She never guessed. All her decisions were informed.

The power of the nexus increased the clarity of the visions but also the frequency, so that she could never remember them all. At best, something would spark a memory at the moment of decision and she would know what to do. Like Shemric had once done, she tried to latch onto a positive future; a future that assured the continuation of life in the galaxy and happiness for Julienne. The threads remained as slippery as ever and she howled in the swirling maelstrom of possibility.

ENOUGH!

This voice in her mind was unfamiliar but also unforgiving and she cringed back from it.

YOUR MORTAL MIND CANNOT BEAR THIS, SMALL ONE. GO BACK AND BE SATISFIED. YOU ARE MEANT TO STRUGGLE AND LEARN WITHOUT TOO MUCH KNOWLEDGE OF THE FUTURE. DEPART!

Julienne stumbled away, unaware of the direction she was taking, but in a moment familiar arms encompassed her and she collapsed, physically exhausted from the flow of Force visions she had endured.

Shemric lay back next to Julienne, exhausted and wondered what the next day would bring. As she had insisted, he had waited out next to his tree until he felt her severe psychic distress and rushed to the base of the tree to find her staggering blindly. She had passed out then and Shem had been determined not to stay anywhere close to the nexus that night. Unfortunately, that meant he had to carry both their packs and Julienne over his shoulder. When his physical strength had given out, he found a place for their tent, laid Julienne down in the driest place he could find, and set up camp. The natural heating element in the tent was keeping them warm, but it was solar powered, so it was unlikely to last through another night.

* * *

When Julienne had not awoken the following morning, Shem inventoried their equipment and discarded anything that he thought was replaceable. That reduced his weight by half, but even so, his progress was very slow as he tried to balance precariously with her over his shoulders. Sometime after noon, his exhaustion had caused him to stumble headlong into a cold stream, dumping Julienne unceremoniously in the muck. After dragging her out of the water, it started to rain and Shem knew that hypothermia was going to be a very real possibility soon. He searched for the best location nearby and set up the tent on a slightly less squishy location than everywhere else. Using his saber he started the fire log and laid it as near the tent mouth as he dared while using the provided rain cover to capture some heat. Meanwhile he stripped Julienne to her skin, dried her off with the last remaining dry towel and put her in one of the sleep tubes. By that point he was shivering violently, so he stripped off his own clothes and sat awkwardly on the edge of the tent, while he tried to warm himself over the fire. It barely warmed him up, but at least he was dry, so he extinguished the log and clothed the tent flaps before crawling into the same tube with Julienne. They were not really meant for two people and he was surprised his clammy skin did not wake her up. Fortunately, she was quite warm by then and eventually the shivering went away and he dozed off to sleep.

Shemric woke in the pre-dawn almost-light and quested out to Julienne's mind, in hopes that she was conscious again. When he sensed nothing, he knew he had decisions to make. He was extremely hungry and the pattering of the rain on the tent made clear it was going to be cold and wet outside. It had taken them the better part of seven or eight hours to reach their first camping spot and three more to come to the nexus point. He _might_ have managed to cover half of the distance on the way back so far, but carrying Julienne, it could still be upwards of another day of travel. Food was not really an issue and he began to chew on some energy bars that were as tasteless as ever, but eventually, the gnawing in his stomach receded.

Having left his clothes outside, Shem knew he had nothing dry to wear, nor did he have anything for Julienne. He needed to figure that out first. It occurred to him that he could keep her warm by just carrying her in the sleep tube, if he could figure out a way to do so comfortably. He still needed to find a way to dry his clothes as he heard the patter of rain increase in intensity.

 _Are you a Force-user or a clown?_ The words in his mind were so clear and familiar he thought Julienne had awakened, but in that he was disappointed. He crawled out of the sleep tube regretfully and cringed at the cold and clammy feel of the tent against his bare skin. He needed some cover and some dry clothes. Shem meditated for a moment and reached out to feel the abundance of Force-connections between him and all the living things of the planet. It felt like an immense well and he tapped into it to create a shield over their heads that stopped the rain. He stepped out into the clammy air and found his soaking wet clothes and began to wring them out by hand.

When they were as dry he could manage, he held them before him and imagined pressing them together between two layers of a Force-shield. More water came dripping out the bottom of his pants until it stopped and he felt them again. They were still damp, but he thought they might dry with a fire. He started the log and curved the Force-shield down over the tent, while leaving a hole for the smoke to vent. The increase in warmth because noticeable immediately and he made a couple of makeshift clotheslines with the tent canopy strings. He repeated the squeezing process with the rest of his wet clothes and Julienne's and hung them all up to dry. With nothing to do but to wait, Shem sat down and concentrated on shaping his Force-shield to best capture the heat. The log was not going to last forever and he wanted to be warm and dry in his clothes before it burned out.

In no time, the clothes were steaming and Shemric was as comfortable as he had been since crawling out of the sleep tube. When he deemed the clothes were all dry, he took them off the line and tossed them inside the tent. The log was not even producing a flame anymore and its heat was minimal, so he crawled inside the tent and released his shield. That his plan had worked was pleasing to him, but the effort of doing all those things with the Force had left him exhausted and Shem lay back and dug into the food stores again until he was satisfied. When Shem decided he could delay no longer, he pulled on his clothes, packed up the remainder of their supplies and then dragged Julienne, still inside her sleep tube, out into the pathetic light of day. Fortunately, it was not raining and Shem's little drying experiment had sucked a lot of moisture out of the ground near the tent. He thought about leaving it to save weight but ultimately decided against it. They would need it if he could not make it back to the ship today.

Shem hefted Julienne over his shoulder again and set off, feeling tired already. When it started to rain again, he created a shield over their heads and thereby managed to keep them mostly dry. After a couple of hours he was exhausted and the beacon said he was still several kilometers away. He decided to start taking regular rest breaks in between hiking. He was becoming very tired and knew it was going to get tricky if he did not arrive by nightfall.

Unfortunately, his rest breaks became longer as his walking breaks shortened. He still had over a kilometer to travel and the light was fading.

 _Why does a Jedi need the light, Shemric?_ came another voice in his head. Master Keddis' kindly voice was a sharp counterpoint to Julienne's _. You cannot pick up the Force and put it down when it is convenient for you, Shemric. It has to be a part of you. Let go and be._

Shem took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knew he was terrible about letting go and being subservient to the will of the Force. This side trip was a ridiculous way for two warriors to die. He let out a breath calmly, shifted his grip on Julienne, and took a step. And then another. Something happened then, not only in his awareness of the proper footstrike, but in how he balanced and carried Julienne, how he maintained the umbrella-shield, even how he used the energy inside his body. He became … efficient.

Time passed and Shemric became aware of a looming presence that was not living or Force-imbued. He had arrived back at the ship. Shem had never been so happy to put down a burden in his life as he was when he dropped Julienne in their bed. He rolled her over against the wall, stripped off his damp clothes, pulled the blanket over himself and slept like a dead man.

* * *

 _I am hungry,_ came Julienne's quiet voice in his head. _Did I just have a horrible dream?_

Shem let out a cry and rushed from the hold to their sleeping quarters. Julienne was sitting up, tousle-hair and groggy-eyed, but awake when he arrived. When he leaped on the bed and tried to squeeze her she protested.

 _What are you doing? I am just waking up in the morning._

 _You have been asleep for five days, Julienne, he countered._

 _What? Really?_

Shem could sense her thoughts trying to make sense of her surroundings and trying to piece together the past few hours. Finally, she shook her head.

 _I remember hiking to the tree, she said. That is all._

 _I am guessing you regret your decision to visit the Force-nexus, he said._

She shook her head. _I have no idea what even happened._ She must have caught the look on his face. _Something bad?_

 _Something bad?_

 _Yeah, if you call frying me with Force-lightning bad, he said._

 _Well, that won't do, she said. Show me._ She groaned as she tried to move and looked at the IV line attached to her arm. _Can I get some real food first?_

Shem headed off to the food prep area and tried to whip up something more tasty than food concentrates. Julienne ate it all, belched loudly, looked embarrassed and then asked for more.

 _You should let that digest for a bit, he suggested. Let me show you what happened._ Once she had seen the entire vision, Julienne sat back and was lost in thought. Or maybe she was trying to see more possibilities. With her you never knew. When she finally came back to the present, she blinked several times and then focused on Shem.

 _I can't recall anything that I saw there, she said._

 _Then it was a waste of time, he asked?_

 _Hardly, even if all we get out of it was the vision you just showed me, it was well worth the trip, she said._

 _What, you wanted to know if you were capable of killing me, he asked?_

 _Don't be petty, Shem, she said. And use your head. What did you say to me? Something about being the Emperor's tool to punish the Republic? Well, we knew, or I did, that something like that was possible going in. He is immensely powerful and psionic attacks or mind control should easily be within his capabilities. So we need to make sure he can't do that to you._

 _And how are you going to do that, he asked?_

 _I'll be there to watch over you, she said._ Her expression and feelings changed from one of pleasure to be the one in charge to determination that no one was going to take her Shemric away from her now that she had decided to keep him. When he smiled at her phasing, she gave him a too-sweet smile in return. _I'm gonna keep my good boy safe._ Shem might have complained about her condescension, except that she bacedk up her teasing with such an overwhelming feeling of affection that he had to blink away tears for a couple of seconds.

 _How are you going to protect me from an all-powerful being, he asked?_

 _We will attacked him with joined consciousness, she said. He won't be able to get to you without going through me. Of course, that assumes he can't break me as well, but we have to make some positive assumptions or this whole thing in futile._ She sat up out of her sleeping tube and noticed Shem's unfocused expression. _Why_ am _I sleeping naked in bed?_

 _Well, that is a long story, my dear, but the short version is that we had no dry clothes and were in danger of hypothermia, so I stripped you down and dried you off before stuffing you in that tube. After that I carried you in it to keep you warm until we made it back to the ship. Your vessel's excellent med droid took care of the IV and the catheter._

 _Well, I can't blame you this time for getting me in trouble, but I can thank you once again for saving me from it, she said. Now how about getting me something else to eat?_

Shem chuckled and went off in search of more food.

"Is there a reason we are going to Kor Vella?" Shem asked as he noted the destination that Julienne had punched into the navicomputer. Kor Vella was a swank destination city in the Corellian System.

"Several, though for you and I, we are going to spend a day in a luxury hotel and then I am going to send you off to Tython," said Julienne.

"Are you really leaving me again?" he asked."I thought we were in this to the end, this time."

"That time is not yet," she said. "I think I will have to meet you on Tython."

"You are going to come to the Jedi Temple? That will be a sight," he mused.

"Please don't pine away without me, dearest," she said as she pulled back on the hyperdrive level and the stars blurred. "I am sending you back to Tython because I think that is as safe a place as any for you. Train hard. It is us or him now, Shem. I don't think either of us will survive much longer unless we eliminate him."

That was a cold thought and one that did not help him sleep well.

From Corellia, Julienne hired a private ship to take him directly to Tython with an android pilot that was known to see and hear nothing.

 _I won't be long this time, dear,_ she said at parting. _And remember that you need to keep all this to yourself_ , she said. _The first thing your Grand Master should hear about this conflict with the Emperor needs to come from me._

 _As you say,_ he agreed. _I will wait,_ he said. _Maybe not patiently._

She favored him with a smile and last kiss and Shem was again on his way back to the Temple alone after a parting with Julienne. He hoped this one was short.


	37. Chapter 37

**Tython**

Apparently, word had been put out to the front gate that Shemric's arrival was to be noted and he was immediately to be escorted to the grand master's office. Shem wondered what had prompted that, but he supposed it could have been his disappearance on Coruscant and the supply ship's return without him on it. It turned out that she was not even there, but the youngling who had been given the task to escort him looked quite determined, so Shemric simply sat and meditated. Even if it had never felt like a home, the temple here was at least a peaceful place. After a time, the youngling grew restless and Shemric said he would tell the grand master that her messenger had done his job well. The boy smiled and ran off quickly, leaving Shem alone.

"I thought it must be you," came a voice in the midst of his meditation and Shem opened his eyes to see the Battlemaster watching him. "No one else has quite the … unique … feel in the Force as you do. I see Satelle is making you wait."

"A very determined youngling saw to it that I came here immediately," said Shem.

"And only you among all the masters would sit here patiently under the eye of a child," said Nofa. She ran her hand threw his hair affectionately. "What is that on your chin?" she asked.

" _She_ likes it," said Shem. "Well, sometimes."

"Ah, so it was your Sith yummers again, was it?" she said. "Well, anything exciting happen?"

He smiled. "We fought a Sith Lord and five Mandos on Coruscant," he delivered dryly. "Then we flew to meet the Mandalore herself, only to be promptly betrayed to the Empire. We made a bit of a mess and then were rescued, sort of, by the Mandalorian champion. With half the galaxy looking for us, we hid for a couple of weeks on an uninhabited planet in the Outer Rim, went on a camping trip to a Force nexus and nearly died of hypothermia. After we tired of camping, we made a little luxury visit to Corellia and then she sent me off on my own private ship to return. How 'bout you? Anything interesting happen?"

"Cleary I need to get out more," mumbled Nofa. Then she poked Shem in the chest with a small walking stick. "I'll expect a few more details when the grand master is finished."

"Why not wait around for a bit?" he suggested. "I am sure she will invite you in with us."

"You think?" she speculated and then hopped up on a chair next to him. They talked about the stir he had created when he did not return, and the fact that she had already initiated some of their anti-Mandalorian training without him. "I have fought a few of them in my time," was all she said.

After perhaps another hour, Grand Master Shan appeared, alone, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw Shem sitting.

"Master Norm," she said and there was definite amusement in her voice. "How long have you been waiting?"

"I was not keeping track," he shrugged. "Two or three hours. Nofa here has been keeping me company."

"Well let's go in my office before anyone else wants to speak with me," she said, and shooed them through the double doors. When they were all seated, she continued rather abruptly. "Shemric, I have been very anxious of late. I think something is going to happen and I want to know what you have been doing lately."

Shemric blinked several times and wondered how to respond. Julienne said that he was not to tell the grand master anything, but apparently, she already knew.

"Shemric and his Sith lady are recruiting allies," said Nofa. "At least that much is clear to me."

The grand master looked at him and he nodded. "I do not really know the whole plan. Julienne says it is to protect me—and I am not good at keeping secrets."

"Well, without sounding to overly dramatic, I sense that we are nearing a point of decision or action," said Shan. "And you are saying you cannot tell me more?" Her gaze was stern and Shem could only shrug.

"She told me to go back and train hard," he said.

Nofa cackled. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

What developed was a small training group of masters and advanced knights who worked personally under the direction of Master Bariim and was quite often joined by the grand master. Shemric felt them coming together as a group and wondered if the dozen or so individuals that were included would be the core of their strike team when they inevitably assaulted the Emperor. Nofa insisted that Shem reveal to them his unique ability to absorb and repurpose Force-power which gave him a free hand to do pretty much anything he wished.

Since he had brought his Mando armor with him and was comfortable in it, he also headed up the anti-Mandalorian training for many of the other Jedi. When Nofa suggested he integrate it into his own training he began to develop a unique, often unpredictable form of fighting that combined several disciplines and use the Force and technology in equal measure.

And unexpected side result was that the masters all came to consider him one of them and they were harsh on anyone who suggested he did not deserve the title. If there was one surprise, it was that Orosan had not joined them, nor had she sought him out.

"I sent her off," said the grand master, when he mentioned it.

Shem blinked. "How do you mean?"

The grand master gave him a kindly smile. "Do you think we would have been able to keep her back from what we are doing?" Shemric shook his head. "And do you want her death on your conscience?" This time his head shake was even more emphatic. The grand master shrugged. "I found something for her to do out in the Outer Rim as far away from the Sith capital as I could find."

Shemric nodded gratefully. It was one thing that he would not have to worry about when the time came.

* * *

When Shem had been back for four weeks, something happened that showed him clearly that their time was short. The Grand Master was away for something and she had left Master Panarch in charge in her place. He and his former master were walking back from the training floor after a particularly trying session and they turned a corner to come face to face with a group of armed men and women. To anyone but a Jedi they might have passed muster, but Shemric immediately felt their hostile intent and had his lightsaber in hand before any of the persons in question could attack. Even then, he was a step behind Master Panarch, who leaped into their midst even as they began firing. Several red sabers ignited then and blaster fire came hot and heavy, but in the face of two dangerous masters the assassins did not stand for long.

When the last enemy was down, Master Panarch turned quickly to look over Shemric and then nodded brusquely. "I don't sense other enemies, but I want to know how they made it this far." He ran off and Shemric fell in next to him, unease permeating his consciousness. He felt for Master Panarch's solid Force-aura and found his center quickly. They found several bodies of Jedi and younglings in the hallways as they made their way to the front gate. It was empty and the Jedi on guard had been shot neatly in the head with what Shemric suspected was a long-range weapon. Panarch was fuming as he punched in the general alarm and the Temple began to stir like an insect mound poked with a stick.

"Shemric, I am calling a council meeting immediately and I want you to go somewhere and make yourself very small," said Panarch. "Pick somewhere random. I don't want anyone to find you. I don't like something like this happening when the Grand Master is out. It seems too coincidental. I will send my guards to the gate. Wait for them and then go." When Shemric nodded, Panarch ran off quickly. Within five minutes, a full squad of Jedi with a master in charge took over at the gate, looking grim. Shemric did as he was told and spent the night in an empty room he picked at random. He sensed no more turmoil, but he was not comfortable sleeping either.

Panarch found him in the morning and updated him on the Temple's status before sending him off to sleep. "I want you sleeping in a different bed every night," said the acting grand master. "I am going to post guards on your room, but it will be empty. Let's hope Satelle comes back sooner than later.

The atmosphere in the temple felt much like it did during the war years and every entrance was manned at all times of the day. Training was suspended and there was a sense of impending conflict coming that was remarked on by many. Shem knew it was so. It was why he was not surprised when Julienne finally came back to him.


	38. Chapter 38

**3643-Tython** , the gates of the Jedi palace.

"Master Shemric, the Grand Master has sent for you!" said a youngling who ran up all out of breath.

Shem nodded and extinguished his saber. "Then I shall go to her." He had been training with some younglings on the practice field.

"At the front gate, sir," said the youngling. "There is a Sith there asking for you."

Shem blinked in surprise and then reached out his consciousness to sense Julienne. Nothing. She was holding herself in. Well, she had said she would come to him on Tython.

He jogged steadily through the temple until he approached the front doors and then slowed to a walk to take in the scene. Julienne was standing a few meters from the steps, hands at her sides, waiting. Grand Master Shan was waiting at the top of the steps surrounded by a dozen Jedi guards who were all gripping their lightsabers with white knuckles.

He started in surprise. Shem had not known that Master Shan had returned. He walked past them all to the bottom of the steps to regard Julienne.

When he saw here, just for a moment, he wondered if he had lost her again. She did not look like Julienne that he remembered. There was something … ominous about her. She was dressed in red and black Sith battle armor with a hood and cape that could be easily discarded and a battle skirt that just covered her thighs.

They stared at each other as if sizing up what they were seeing and wondering if it was going to be enough. Finally, she spoke, but not with her voice.

 _I told you I would come to you on Tython. It is time._

 _So you did. Do I need to leave with you or is there more afoot here? he asked._

 _I need to speak with your Grand Master. We need more allies. I have failed to gather more than a handful of Sith to oppose the Emperor and we are hunted even now._

Shem nodded and turned to the grand master with a bow. "Grand Master Shan, my Lord Darth Monikas requests a moment of your time to discuss a matter of grave mutual importance."

Shan smiled and the other Jedi tensed. She gestured to the others then, and asked them to put the Temple on further alert. "Come then, Master Norm. Lord Monikas. Let us discuss this matter in private." The guards looked shocked but she gestured to Julienne to follow and turned to walk away. Julienne came to him and fell in step.

 _Nice outfit, he said. Sexy and intimidating._

 _I am glad you like it, she said._ Shem was not the more psionically gifted, but it did not take much to see that Julienne's relaxed exterior covered a storm of emotions underneath.

As they traveled further into the temple, they hardly noticed the astonished looks of the passers-by who stared openly at a Sith accompanying the grand master and Shemric. Finally, she spoke again.

 _Will she listen, your Grand Master, asked Julienne?_

 _I think she will, said Shem. She has always been quite amenable to persuasion if led to it._

 _She did not seem overly surprised to see me, said Julienne_

 _We have discussed you._

 _I told you not to mention this to her, she said sharply._

 _Discussed you in a general sense, he amended. She senses that something is coming and did not want to be caught off guard._

In a few minutes they were at her office door and the guards there were clearly loath to let the Sith pass.

"Come," said Shan. "I sense an urgency about you. Let us discuss what needs to be discussed."

When they had sat across from each other on the low, hard chairs in her office, Julienne began without preamble.

"I have come to seek your help and that of the Jedi, Grand Master," she said. "There is a very great threat in the form of the Sith Emperor and I have put all the pieces in play that I can muster against him. Unfortunately, few among the Sith agree with me and I brought fewer than twenty allies with me. All Lords or very accomplished warriors, but we need more. We intend to assault the Emperor's citadel and bring an end to him."

Shan just looked at her for several long moments. "How do you plan to actually destroy the Emperor? He is said to have near-limitless power."

"Shemric is the key," said Julienne. "He can drain the Emperor's power so that he can be destroyed."

 _That is your plan!? To use my parlor trick to destroy the most powerful being in the galaxy!_

 _It is not a trick, said Julienne calmly. It is a gift. And you have been working to make it more effective. Hush now and calm yourself. She needs to see you confident._

"Shem tells me you have visions; have you seen this?" asked Shan.

 _Now who has been sharing our secrets, asked Julienne with a raised eyebrow?_

 _It came up. They were trying to understand us, said Shem._ Julienne's mental snort made his head ring, even without making a sound.

"If Shem told you that much, then he must have told you that he is outside my field of sight," said Julienne. "I cannot see him, but I believe that is what can and must happen. We must breach the outer perimeter, fight the Sith warriors and Lords he will have assembled and give Shem an opportunity to defeat him."

Shan considered first Julienne, then Shem for a few moments before nodding. "Very well, what do you need?"

Julienne's eyes widened. "Just like that?"

"What did you expect Lord Monikas?" asked Shan.

Julienne snorted out loud this time. "I expected to fight my way out of the temple and maybe not even escape the planet."

"Was that a vision or a suspicion?" asked Shan.

"A suspicion," admitted Julienne.

"Well, I have expected something momentous for some time and I thought that Shem would be at the heart of it," said Shan. "So I ask again, what do you need?"

"As many Masters as will come with us on this raid," said Julienne. "I have not seen a great army. Just a handful, really."

"And you seem to be in a rush…" said Shan.

"The Emperor's agents have been tailing us closely," said Julienne. "I suspect they are even now contemplating what sort of incident it will provoke if they make planetfall and attack the Jedi Temple."

"Then give me thirty minutes," said Shan. "I will send word and try to persuade as many as I can. You have a ship, I assume?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Julienne.

"Then please, go with Shem and stay out of sight for a bit," said Shan. "Meet us on the front steps in 30 minutes."

"Thank you, I will," said Julienne, rising quickly and taking Shem's hand.

His awareness of her had been limited until the moment she touched him and then it exploded in his head like a bursting grenade. There was so much swirling around, so many portents of doom that Shem's eyes glazed over for a moment before she steadied him. _Stay with me, dear. We have something we need to do while they are discussing this._ She was tugging him out of the room before he knew it and even the incredulous stares of the guards, Knights and Masters outside did little to shake his stupor. When he finally came back to himself, he realized they were headed in the direction of his quarters, but she could only lead him there if she had pulled that information out of his brain. _Come along, Shemric. Our time is short and I have no intension of wasting it._

 _Where are we going, he asked?_

 _Your room, of course. I wish you to impregnate me before we leave._

Shemric really did stumble then but Julienne's grip on his arm was a vice.

 _You want me to do what?_

 _Surely you have heard that babies come when men and women … " she began._

 _I know that, but why now? What has gotten into you?_

 _My imminent demise. Yours. Neither of us. Both of us. Failure. All of those things are possible, but success is also possible. If that is going to happen, I have to be with your child when we go to face him, she explained._ Her grip on his arm had not slackened, nor had her pace towards his room. _I must go to this fight with your child in my womb or we will fail. And don't ask me why! I have no idea. We have only one chance at this._ Finally, a trickle of amusement seeped through. _Well, maybe two; she did give us 30 minutes after all._ She must have sensed his confusion but she stamped it out quickly. _For once just do what you are told!_

Shem's mind was reeling. Having a child with Julienne had been his greatest desire since nearly the beginning, but this rush was a little much for him. She had to be carrying his child for them to win? How was that going to help? What if he died? What if she was killed? This was madness. They jerked to a stop abruptly and Julienne took his face in her hands and made him meet her eyes under the shadow of her hood.

 _Listen to me, Shemric! You have to trust me. Many things can happen now and I cannot predict all of them. Perhaps my desire to be the mother of your child is shading my visions. It has happened before. But it doesn't matter. I want this! There will be no time in the coming days and we need to focus on the mission. These may be the last 30 minutes in our lives where we can be alone. Together. I want to go into this fight knowing we started our family and protect that dream with everything that we have. I love you, Shemric. I always have, in my way, and I always will._

The oddity of a Jedi, standing in a hallway in his temple, tears running down his face while he stood mere centimeters from a dark-clothed Sith Lord would probably have incited comment had anyone been there to see it. Fortunately for the two of them, there was no one to interrupt the passionate kiss they shared, nor the rib-cracking full-body hug that followed it.

 _Now, can we_ go, _said Julienne?_

 _After you, my lady,_ said Shem and still holding her hand, he rushed off down the corridor with something that might have sounded like a giggle bubbling out of him.

* * *

Shemric was quite surprised when he jogged through the front doors some thirty-odd minutes later with Julienne in tow, to see that the steps were occupied by only a few Jedi. Master Shan was there and several others he recognized, but there were no more than a handful.

 _Well that recruiting job went poorly, said Julienne._

When they approached Grand Master Shan, Shem was surprised to see his friend Nofa, the battlemaster, speaking with her quietly.

"Battlemaster Nofa, I hope you are well," said Shemric.

"As well as can be for one my age," said the wrinkled Jawa. "Much better now that I get to meet your lovely Sith yum-yum," she cackled. Shan smiled wanly and Shem could sense Julienne actually blushing, though it was hard to tell beneath her hood. "Come now, young lady, take off that hood and let's have a look at you. I am quite fond of this young man and I should like to make sure he has not made a mistake."

Surprisingly, Julienne obeyed and Nofa smiled broadly as she looked up at the waves of black hair spilling out of the hood. "Oh, I see our dear Shemric was doomed from the start. Well, I hope you two know what you are doing." She elbowed Shem in the thigh and whispered so loudly that everyone could hear her. "She is quite the looker, your yum-yum. I guess I can hardly blame you." And then she reached up her hand to shake with Julienne.

"Julienne, this is Battlemaster Nofa who is clearly pleased with her own cleverness," said Shem.

"It is a pleasure to meet someone who speaks their mind, for a change," said Julienne gravely.

"Well, it is a failing of the old," said Nofa. "So are we all going to die on this little adventure, do you think?"

"That is the most likely outcome," said Julienne.

Nofa cackled in amusement but Shem started. "Are _you_ coming, battlemaster?"

"I most certainly have volunteered," she said. "The others have, oh, about five more minutes to appear before we leave." She leaned closer to Julienne's leg and whispered. "I would not go telling the rest we are about to die. It is bad for morale."

"I will take that into consideration, ma'am," said Julienne. "However, there is some chance that we will win and survive. In fact, it seems to be increasing all the time. You see, it seems that Shem here managed to impregnate me a few minutes ago, even if it took him two tries. That was sort of important in my visions."

Nofa burst out laughing and slapped her knee several times while Shem looked away, his face on fire.

 _Do we need to be sharing that with everyone, asked Shem?_

 _It is good news; don't most newly expecting parents share that kind of thing, she said innocently?_

During the next five minutes their numbers increased dramatically as masters and a few knights hurried up in full battle gear. One of the last was Master Panarch, who actually winked at Shemric, before going to converse with another master out of Shem's sight.

"I think that might be all we are going to get, grand master," said Nofa.

Shem's quick head count said there were somewhat less than two dozen. _Is that going to be enough, he asked?_

 _It is just about right, said Julienne. I have to admit though, this is going to be a small army to take on the might of the Empire._

 _Yeah, and that does not even consider how you think I am going to defeat him, said Shem._

 _Do not worry, my love, she said. We have to get there first. We might not even make it that far._

 _Lovely, he muttered._

At that moment, the grand master stepped forward. "I am not going to make any sweeping speeches to motivate you, but I will thank you for coming. Your trust in me is appreciated. From now on, Lord Monikas will be running this mission and I will be following her orders." She nodded at Julienne as Shem heard some low murmuring. They did not seem to like that bit of news. Shem had not realized the grand master was coming until that moment.

"Grand Master Shan, are you sure it is a good idea for you to be leaving," asked Shem? Several of the masters nearby shook their heads and soon all were listening.

"I am not sure if it is good or bad, Master Norm, but if you are right, and we fail, nothing I will be doing here will matter," she said. "As such, I prefer to lend a hand."

Shem bowed as Julienne began speaking into a communicator on her wrist. Less than five minutes later a Sith Dropship sped into view. She stepped forward quickly to address the group.

"My name is Julienne," she began. "Though I have earned the title of Sith Lord from years of hard work and sacrifice, much as you masters have, I do not expect you to use my title, if you prefer not. We are going to be joining a similar number of Sith Lords and warriors under my command who have equally volunteered for this mission. We all need to fight together to get through this and succeed, so please, think of them as patriots to their cause, much as you view yourselves, and treat them with respect, as they will treat you." She nodded and the dropship set down with the ramp already lowering.

They boarded quickly and strapped in and lifted off under heavy G's to speed skyward in a roar of rocket engines. Nofa had chosen to sit next to him, but it was impossible to speak amidst the engine noise. Her craggy face looked quite serene as they left the atmosphere and the ride smoothed out.  
"Two minutes to Jump," came a voice over the intercom. "Hold on tight. We have unfriendlies."

The ship lurched under cannon fire and then began to maneuver wildly as the pilot attempted to line up the jump to hyperspace while not being destroyed by the hostile ships. Shem looked across at Grand Master Shan whose eyes were closed and seemed to almost be sleeping. In a few moments the lurching stopped and in less than a minute they had jumped to hyperspace. Master Shan's eyes opened abruptly and Shem wondered what she had done. Influencing someone's mind from a great distance was not a talent of which he had ever heard, but the grand master was a Jedi of skills far beyond Shem's comprehension. She saw him looking at her and nodded, as if he understood.

"You are free to get up and move around if need be," came the pilot's voice again. "This is going to be a short hop before we rendezvous with our other partners in this venture. Basic rations are in the bulkhead at the front. The head is in the back."

Shem loosened his buckle somewhat, but did not get up and in a few minutes, Julienne came to sit next to him. Surprisingly, he reached across and took his hand.

 _I appreciate your public displays of affection, dear, he said._

Her mental sending was amused. _It matters very little what the others think of me anymore. After this, I will no longer be a Sith Lord, just as you will no longer be a Jedi Master. What we were is behind us now. I am sorry for making fun of you back on the temple steps. Our child is not a joke to me. It is our future and my hope is that we meet that future together._

 _I was just surprised. Women talk about anything to each other, he teased._

 _Well, your friend seemed to be in on our secrets and she had an entitled sort of way about her as if she deserved to know, said Julienne._

 _She has been my closest friend since I arrived on Tython, said Shem. I think she views me as the grandson she never had._

 _She seems sweet. Was she really the Battlemaster, asked Julienne?_

 _Yes, she was, he said. Do not let her size fool you. She taught me a great deal and tested me even further. On another subject, who are we going to meet?_

Julienne shifted to meet his eyes and smile. _Why, your friend the Mandalorian Champion of course. And a few of his compatriots._ That surprised Shem. He had not thought the Mandalorians would get involved. _They did not. It is just the champion, Dao Stryver and a few others. They are providing a fighter escort and a few warriors to accompany us._

"You two are giving me a headache, with all you mind-speaking," said Nofa abruptly. "Can we have a conversation like normal people?" Both Julienne and Shemric stopped abruptly to stare in surprise. Nofa rolled her eyes in a very human-like gesture that was even more effective when your eyes were the size of hers.

"Your pardon, Battlemaster Nofa," said Julienne. "We will try to keep things on a tighter string from now on. We don't mean to be a bother."

"You rousted me out of my stupor at the temple for the first time in years," said Nofa. "You are not a bother. But… it would be nice to have a conversation in the normal fashion."

"And what would you like to talk about Master Nofa?" asked Julienne politely.

"How about Nerf steaks?" said the Jawa. "It has been a long time since I had a really good Nerf steak."

"And how do you like your Nerf cooked?" said Julienne.

"Oh, rare, of course," said Nofa. "Why scorch all that good meat?"

"I like mine a little more done, but I don't mind it a bit rare," said Julienne. Shemric found the conversation surreal given their circumstances. "My father used to cook it a bit on one side and then the other and call it good. I used to tease him that his food was bleeding." Julienne took a sharp breath and covered her mouth in a gesture of surprise. "I have not thought about that in twenty years." Shemric was not sure, but he could have sworn there was some moisture in the corner of her eyes.

Nofa reached across Shemric to squeeze Julienne's knee. "That is a good memory to bring up. It helps us to remember the ones we love. Tell me then, what is your favorite memory of Shem, then?"

Shem perked up then and gave Julienne a very questioning look, but she ignored him. When she wanted to shut him out of her thoughts, she could do so. It took her some time to answer, but finally she smiled and looked over at Nofa. "Battlemaster, I have many memories of Shemric and for the most part, they are the only really happy or peaceful ones that I recall. I'm not sure I can separate out one. However, I will tell you his most positive trait; he is and has been unfailingly loyal to me since the day we met."

"Well, that was not exactly the romantic story I was expecting, but then I don't supposed a Sith Lord has a lot of time for romance," said Nofa.

"Not really," agreed Julienne. "But we have managed a few. Once, after he nearly drowned me in the ocean, we did walk back hand-in-hand along the beach under the moonlight, cavort naked in the surf and then he tossed me over his shoulder to carry me back to our bungalow where he thoroughly ravished me."

"Oh, well that is much better then," agreed Nofa and she gave them both a radiant smile.

Shemric shook his head and wondered how many of his secrets the battlemaster would know before this was over.


	39. Chapter 39

The raiding party met up with a much larger ship in orbit around Coruscant. Julienne had said that there was so much traffic around the Republic capital that it was the easiest place to hide in plain sight. They docked and disembarked to the much larger ship that had been outfitted as an informal troop carrier. It was a large freighter and Julienne wasted no time leaving the system and jumping to hyperspace.

They were greeted by a Sith who appeared to be in charge and who clearly knew Julienne. The other warriors began to mill about and to Shem's surprise, several Jedi had struck up conversations with their Sith counterparts. It was very odd to see.

 _Did you intend this, when you went recruiting, asked Shem?_

 _What? That Jedi and Sith should meet each other with common cause and fight side by side, she asked? Not really. But I see what you mean. Perhaps something good will come of them interacting in this way._

"Darth Monikas, I am pleased to see that you returned safely and with … allies," said the Sith. He looked Shemric up and down and clearly was not impressed. Shemric gave him the once-over and offered his hand.

"I am Shemric Norm," was all he said. The Sith looked at the hand in surprise and then took it in an iron grip.

"I am Darth Nocturne," he said. Up close he was even more impressive; he was a good six centimeters taller than Shem and much broader. His eyes had taken on the yellow-red cast he had seen from many Sith and he definitely emitted the low buzz of Darkside Force sensation that was typical. "Monikas has assured me that you are our key to victory so I hope you are up to the task, otherwise this is a suicide mission. You don't look all that impressive, but then she warned me as much." He turned to Julienne. "I have to admit that I am surprised you returned so quickly and with so many Jedi."

"Shemric had prepared the terrain," said Julienne. "All they needed was a nudge."

"Well, I eyeballed them as they disembarked," said Nocturne. "They look like a hard lot. They are certainly older than most of the Sith you recruited."

"Their Grand Master persuaded most of them," said Julienne. "And came herself. If this is a suicide mission they are effectively cutting off their own leadership head."

Nocturne blinked and looked back over his shoulder. "Shan is among them? Malgus always spoke ill of her, but she still kicked his ass on Alderaan. And that was years ago. She must really believe you if she came herself."

"She has been concerned for weeks that … something was coming," said Shem. "She can feel the moment approaching."

Nocturne eyed Shemric for a few moments and then nodded. "Monikas, we have been working out the details of the raid and want to discuss everyone's parts. Do you want to wait for the Mandos?"

"I think we should," said Julienne. "Let's not offend them before we even get started."

Nocturne nodded. "Well, I for one, am happy you returned. Sitting around waiting above the Republic capital was very unnerving. I think some of our warriors should not be left too long to contemplate what we are attempting."

Julienne nodded. "I suspect many of them joined for the opportunity for premature advancement, but the odds are definitely going to be stacked against us. We need to act quickly."

They met the Mandalorian contingent orbiting the planet Telos on the edge of Sith-Republic space. The Mandos came aboard in Stryver's personal ship and when they began to disembark, Shem was surprised to see a group of familiar faces. Wash and his training group all walked out together and there was much backslapping and smiles among them.

Haima, Grot, Zubit and the brothers were all there and Haima looked genuinely pleased to meet Julienne when Shemric introduced them.

"I always wondered what kind of woman could leave a man like Shemric so terrified," said Haima, smiling. "Now that I see you, I have to say it does not surprise me. You do look scary." Julienne laughed and shook hands with the Haima and then met the others.

"I hope Stryver properly explained the odds of success on this mission," said Shemric when introductions were finished.

Wash laughed and the others looked slightly nervous. "Not good, she said. We are all likely to die, she said," said Wash. "Does that about sum it up?" Shem shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, she told us what we were up against. But also said that the Emperor was trying to destroy the galaxy and that you were in the thick of it, Shemric. Well, you always seemed to possess an unusual ability to be correct even when others thought you were insane, so … "he shrugged and gestured around him, "… we all came for you. If the galaxy is going to be destroyed, we would just as soon go down fighting."

That sentiment was one that permeated through the group at large as they briefed everyone in the main hold on the run-in to Dromund Kaas. Darth Nocturne and Stryver had formulated the plan with help from Julienne and several suggestions from Grand Master Shan. The holographic projector displayed the Emperor's Citadel and Nocturne walked about to gesture at certain points as he explained.

"We have two strike teams that are going to enter at two different points," he began. "One is the main entrance. We are going to fly the reinforced dropship right in the front door. The defenses on that side are very formidable and controlled from inside the Citadel itself, so that will be the responsibility of Darth Monikas." Julienne nodded at Nocturne; she had already informed Shemric they would be the first down on the surface and would need to go in with a small team to make the initial incursion. It also meant that if they failed, they would be trapped inside the citadel.

Nocturne continued as he pointed to another place on nearly the opposite side of the facility. "This is a service entrance where food, supplies and other things are brought in on a regular basis. It not very large and won't cause quite as much of an initial stir as when the dropships comes in. The purpose here is to have some redundancy as well as to split their security forces so they cannot concentrate on either group. When Lord Monikas has disabled their defensive capabilities, then the raid will commence and we will converge on the council chambers. The Emperor's own guard will be the major obstacle at that point as they are all accomplished Force-users and will fight to the death. Once we clear that problem, it will be time to confront the Emperor himself. There is a scheduled meeting with the Dark Council which should assure that he is present. If not, Lord Monikas has assured me that it will be up to her to find him."

There was a great deal of discussion after that, but Shemric knew his primary role was going to be following Julienne into the citadel and surviving with her until they entered the council chamber. After that, they would confront the Emperor directly and when he attacked them, Shemric was to use his Force-redirecting ability to drain the Emperor and destroy him. It sounded simple enough.

"Monikas and Master Norm are principally responsible for confronting the Emperor himself," said Nocturne. "It is highly likely that we will be resisted by the other members of the Dark Council. Some of them are very accomplished warriors, but many of them are years removed from any actual combat experience. However, they are all powerful Force-users, so we will turn into a defensive force once the conflict with the Emperor begins. We need to keep everyone back while Monikas and Norm do their work."

 _Stop worrying so much, Shemric, said Julienne. You are starting to give me an upset stomach the way you go on._

 _Well, I suppose the continued existence of the known galaxy riding on my shoulders is starting to feel heavy, he pointed out._

 _And worry is helping, she asked? This is either something you can do or not do, but I hardly think we have come this far just to fail._

 _I appreciate your optimistic attitude, he said. I will try to focus._ And he did, though he had to ignore most of the briefing to do it. He figured that Julienne was going to be leading the way, so he would just follow and then do what he must. To further complicate matters for Shemric, Julienne had insisted that they spend all of their spare time working either on Shemric's psionic defenses or hiding their Force sensitivity completely. It was mentally exhausting but Julienne pushed him relentlessly until their pilot said they were in orbit around Dromund Kaas.

Shemric had one surprise for Julienne as they prepared to leave. He had re-painted his Mando armor flat black and obtained other accoutrements so that he would not look out of place down in the capital city.

Julienne's eyes certainly widened when she saw him, but she was wise enough to say nothing more than, "Appropriate," before they fell into step.

"It seems very real, of a sudden," commented Shem as they were walking to the main hold. Speaking had become necessary when you were shutting each other out to practice avoiding the attention of the Emperor. Who knew how sensitive to Force disturbances he might be on his own planet?

"Welcome to my world," she said. Her smile was tight and he sensed that she was putting on a brave face for the others.

"That is what you do when you have others depending on you, my dear," she said.

Shem nodded. Since her increased affection at the Temple, she had seemed more and more like Darth Monikas and less like the Julienne he knew. He realized that while Julienne might be capable of accomplishing this mission, Darth Monikas had been preparing for it for a long time. He nodded grimly; he might not like it, Monikas was the woman they needed now. Shem did not meet her eyes, but he assumed the vice-like grip on his shoulder was confirmation that she agreed.

In the hold, they met with half a dozen innocuous-looking Sith soldiers. They were armed but not with any heavy weapons and would not have excited any comment from Shem under normal circumstances. One of the men stepped forward to greet Darth Monikas.

"Lord Monikas, we await your order," he said. Up close his dark grey eyes were hard and his expression determined. Closed off to the Force, Shem could not get a sense of how he was feeling, but he probably felt much the same way that Shem himself did. He identified himself as Sergeant Sukwol.

Monikas nodded-Shem had a hard time thinking of her as Julienne when she was like this—and they led the way to a small shuttle they would be taking to the surface. It was certainly not a luxury ride and they all strapped in for the bumpy ride to the surface. Lighting arced across the sky out the view port and Shem noted the similarity with Dagobah.

Actually setting foot on Dromund Kaas was not as shocking as Shem had expected, but then, his Force-sensitivity was shut down and he felt nothing that his normal physical senses could not pick up. For all that, he noted that the planet smelled bad. He supposed the rotting matter of the jungles combined with the sharp smell of ozone from so much lightning made for a pungent combination. His eyes told him that the planet was sickly and the inhabitants lacking in hope. Shem felt his resolve strengthen as he saw what the Emperor had done to his own home.

The strike team took an inconspicuous bus right up to the very steps of the Emperor's citadel, a vast stone monolith that emanated a Darkside miasma that Shem could not shut out no matter what he did. He felt remarkably calm at that moment. It was time to begin.


	40. Chapter 40

**3643—Dromund Kaas**

Monikas strode up the steps with Shem and her 'guard' in tow and tried not to admit to herself how much she was afraid of this moment. What should have been eager anticipation had become a silent dread. It was impossible to spend time with Shemric without reattaching to her feelings of happiness, warmth and human connection that came with him, but those feelings were not helpful here. Even knowing she was carrying Shemric's child was a liability. Each step up to the citadel's main gate felt like a march to her own destruction.

 _The problem Julienne, Monikas-whichever you prefer-is that you, like Shemric, cannot see that you are not two different people._ The words were from Shemric's mother. _Julienne and Monikas are both you. You feel like you must be Julienne to be a loving companion to Shemric, and Monikas to be a brutal warrior capable of bringing death to your enemies. I promise, there will come a time when you can no longer be torn between the two sides of who you think you must be._ As she completed the last step, Julienne/Monikas finally understood. Today she had to be whole to destroy the Emperor and protect Shemric and her unborn child. What she called herself was irrelevant.

Julienne/Monikas slipped into Shemric's consciousness like the whisper of a breeze and joined with him.

 _It is time, my dear, she said._ Monikas strode forward toward the open, but heavily guarded entrance. When a tall armored man stepped in front to bar her way she stopped and removed her hood. The unarmored clerk running the computer at the door saw her and his eyes widened alarmingly. Julienne reached out and blasted everyone before her off their feet and then leaped out of the way.

* * *

Shemric knew the cue for the attack to begin would come from Julienne. She was supposed to distract and obscure the vision of the guards while the soldiers behind quickly assembled a cannon they had disassembled and hid under their cloaks. When Julienne blasted the gate, Shem leaped aside and the Sith sergeant and his crew opened up on the weapons emplacements at the gate and then up above. Shem sprinted in Julienne's wake as the armored doors began to close. Not quickly enough, as he leapt through long before they were close to barring his way. He followed Julienne into the guard control station where she ordered the personnel inside to shut down the defensive systems. It was a Force-enhanced suggestion backed by a look that promised death and they quickly complied.

Moments later, Sergeant Sukwol entered the center and herded the terrified personnel out of the room before setting his own people in their places. Two men remained outside manning the cannon. There was no need for Julienne to issue orders. The men began to shut down the orbital defensive shields and unmanned weaponry. One man made a call to the strike teams that should have been inbound already. Just over three minutes later, the citadel shook with the impact of the reinforced dropship breaching the outer wall.

"Nice work, Sergeant," said Julienne. "Seal yourself in and hold out as long as you can."

"Aye, my lord," he replied, without looking up.

 _Come, Shemric, let us join the others, she said._ She strode out of the control room and ignited two red lightsabers. Shem noted they were both of his manufacture.

 _Of course they are, she said._ And then she ran off to follow the debris trail of the crash-landed dropship. Shem followed closely as they came upon the pitched battle that was already in progress. Red lightsabers classed with blue and green and occasionally other red ones while the regular soldiers of the guard fired off blaster bolts at a furious pace. The Emperor's guard was arrayed in a rough semi-circle around what Shem assumed was the entrance to the Dark Council Chambers.

 _Let's drop on them from above, said Julienne_

Shem took Julienne's arm and blasted off with his rocket pack to skip over the line of warriors and drop down amidst the defenders right at the now-sealed blast door. Shem gathered their energy momentum and added to it as they landed to blast the fighters in the vicinity off their feet.

 _Keep them off me while I cut this open, she said._ She thrust into the alloy of the door with both sabers while Shem spun around in time to meet the red saber of an Imperial Guard. He was very good, but died with a shocked expression on his face when he tried to blast Shem with lightning and was blasted back in return. For Shem, with so much Force-energy being flung about, it was not difficult to repurpose and redirect many attacks back at their originator. Caught between the raiding force and Shemric, the defenders were destroyed quickly. Nocturne strode up with a red saber in hand and a look of much greater respect for Shem than he had back on the ship. Several other Jedi and Sith joined Julienne in breaching the door and several other points along the wall. When there were five or six entry points, Julienne waved the others through and stood to the side. This was the plan, to have the others engage and distract the Dark Council members before Shem and Julienne entered.

 _Well, I have to say that everything has gone remarkably according to plan, my dear, said Julienne. Let us hope it continues. Just a few more moments … and, now!_ Julienne ducked into a hole in the wall and Shem followed her a moment later.

* * *

Monikas entered the Dark Council Chamber that she had only visited once before and immediately felt that overwhelming _presence_ of the Emperor. He was here and that meant that everything could still be accomplished. The council chamber itself was a war-zone with Sith, Jedi and Mandos engaging each other in deadly combat everywhere that could be seen. Monikas looked to the center to see the Emperor watching the conflict with a rictus of anger on his face. Occasionally he would reach out and fire off blasts of lightning and concussion that overwhelmed any to whom it struck, but the combatants were so mixed up as to make it difficult to distinguish targets from a distance. That gave them a chance.

She could sense Shemric's feelings of horror and fear at the Darkside aura that drenched the entire council chamber and even his surprise that they were actually facing the Emperor. Monikas moved forward knowing Shem would follow and tried to skirt around several conflicts. Finally, there was no more avoiding it as Darth Ravage strode up and recognized her.

 _I will take him, Shem, she said quickly. Go to the Emperor!_

Ravage tried to blast her with lightning, but she grounded it out on her blades and attacked him savagely. The surprise was evident on his ruined face as she drove him back into the center of the chamber and sensed Shemric leaping past her. She could see out of his eyes and knew he was approaching the Emperor, but needed most of her attention to survive her own fight. Ravage railed at her treachery and called her many names, but she continued to batter him with both sabers until he fell to his back, shocked that she had taken his blade hand. She ended him a moment later and then spun to where she knew Shemric stood. She thought he might have frozen there and almost called to him, but then he leaped at the Emperor and Monikas rushed to help.

* * *

Shem was sure the Emperor had not known he was there until he had leaped past Julienne to confront him directly. The presence of the man … if that is what he was … felt like a physical pressure on his mind and body as if he filled up the council room space. He did not look particularly noteworthy, just a fit, middle-aged man with greying hair and a beard, but in the Force he felt _immense_. Impossibly so. It was like you were sensing the life-force of a city rather than a person.

The Emperor's eyes widened in recognition and, for the smallest moment, fear, when he finally gazed up Shemric. That moment of fear was all Shemric needed to boost his confidence and attack. Shem felt like he was attacking a mountain.

YOU HAVE AN UNCANNY KNACK FOR SURVIVAL, LITTLE JEDI. The words boomed in Shemric's mind until he felt Julienne blunting some of the intensity. AH, AND ONE OF MY OWN A TRAITOR. I CANNOT SAY THAT YOUR RETURN IS WELCOME, MONIKAS.

Shemric hurled one of his Force javelins at the Emperor as he sensed Julienne doing the same. The Emperor's eyes widened in surprise, but he swatted them aside with a derisive expression and then laughed.

IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE ANYONE TRIED TO ASSASINATE ME, he said. THAT ATTEMPT DID NOT WORK OUT VERY WELL FOR THE JEDI OR SITH IN QUESTION, EITHER. Shemric and Julienne had attacked him while he spoke and he blasted them back with a pure Force sending that made Shem's eyes glaze over for a moment before Julienne slammed his consciousness back in his body.

 _Do better, Shem, or this is not going to work, she cried at him._

They continued to circle and attack with sabers while he kept them back with lightning and concussive blasts that should have sent them flying were Shemric not absorbing the energy and dissipating it. After several such attacks, the Emperor eyed him warily. When Julienne leaped to attack from behind, Shem rushed him as well. Juju seemed to slam against an immovable surface and fall. Shem knew he could hold off no longer and pulled in all the energy of the Emperor's attack and turned it into pure lightning, which he sent back at their enemy. The attack came as a complete surprise and the Sith staggered back for several moments before putting up a hand and blocking the rest of the lightning away from himself. Shem stood there, in the middle of the chamber and felt the Emperor gathering his power for a counterattack that would crush Shemric.

 _This is the moment, Shemric,_ came Julienne _. You must drain him._

When the attack came, it was a discharge of pure Force energy and Shemric took it in and sent it back at the Emperor in the form of lightning. As he had done with Malgus, he began to pull energy directly from the Emperor and use it to feed his assault further.

FOOL! THAT IS A NICE LITTLE TRICK, BUT YOU ARE STILL A MEANINGLESS INSECT NEXT TO ME.

Shemric felt the flow of power into him cease and then it was rushing out of him like a river trying to fit through a hose. He tried to stop the flow out of him and it lessened somewhat but the Emperor was far too strong. This was not going to work. They were going to fail. He was in an enormous tug-of-war and the rope was slipping through his fingers. If it had just been a question of power then he would have been extinguished in mere moments, but it was also a battle of wills and Shemric found to his surprise that he sensed fear in the Emperor; he had not been challenged in any serious way in so long that he had grown complacent.

 _Shemric_? He sensed Julienne for the first time since the conflict with the Emperor had begun. _Fight this, Shemric! He will suck_ you _empty until you cannot exist!_ And then it felt like she was reaching over his shoulder to take hold of the rope and pull with him. The flow of power out of him slowed but it was still the outrushing of great waters through a small break in the dam. He could not stop it. Even his fear for Julienne could not halt the flow. Shemric knew he was moments from ending.

 _You don't have to win this fight on your own, Shemric._ It was Master Keddis' sensed another presence join with himself and Julienne. The flow of power out of Shemric lessened.

 _You brought us to do this thing,_ came Grand Master Shan's voice _._ Her presence caused the flow to slow considerably, but it was not enough.

 _Then I guess you need some more help, came Nofa voice._ Or was it his mother and father? All the voices blended in his mind and suddenly the tug-of-war ceased. Or rather, the change of Force essence flow stopped and they were suspended in limbo, neither side moving or giving in.

YOU ARE ALL FOOLS! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME. I WILL NOT BE UNDONE!

Again the tugging resumed and the energy rushed out of Shemric and the others despite every effort against it. It was not going to be enough.

Shem's eyes had been open, staring at the Emperor when the conflict had started and he sensed the smallest of movement in his peripheral vision. A green missile flashed by and converged with the Emperor. For just a small flash of time, Shemric saw Nofa impact the Emperor's chest with her tiny green lightsaber in hand. She buried in his heart. His eyes widened in shock and pain for a moment before he reached out a hand to Nofa and made her … disappear. In the Force, Shemric felt his friend's life force extinguish and then heard the faint whisper in his mind. _The Force is with you, my friend. The tool that I helped create will be strong enough for the job. Goodbye._

He felt Master Bariim disappear into the Force and instead of grief and pain, he felt her peace at her passing. When Shemric's eyes opened again he saw the Emperor, or rather felt him, trying to maintain the attachment between his body and spirit. It was a simple fight for survival and required all the Sith leader's attention. With the enormous pressure on his mind and will gone, Shem reached out and started tugging again at the man's Force essence. This time it came unabated and Shemric felt himself swelling and growing and increasing until he felt as if he was looking down on the world from a mountain top.

From far above, Shem noted the end of the Emperor's life as the ancient being's power was no longer sufficient to maintain the link to his body. The millennia-old leader of the Sith Empire who had stolen the lives and Force-energy of millions and billions of beings winked out like a light that had lost its source of power.

That power now filled Shemric and his mind struggled to make sense of what was happening. He felt connected to millions of beings and even the planet itself. He felt the imbalance in the Force that the Emperor's Force-stealing rite had created so many centuries before Shemric was born. It was not hard to know what everyone in the vicinity was thinking and feeling and doing. His being filled and encompassed _everything_. He was now … something more.

 _Shemric?_ came a gentle query. It was a mere brush across his mind. Who was Shemric? That may have described someone familiar but was largely insufficient to describe himself now.

WHO ARE YOU? he asked finally.

 _You know who I am,_ came the voice again.

He looked into her mind and shuffled through the memories that she presented. Who was she really? An enemy. A friend. A lover. An accomplice. She had brought him to this point in his existence. She was responsible in part for who he was.

WHAT DO YOU WANT? he replied.

 _You seem to have lost your way, Shemric, came the voice. Let me help you find your way back._

He felt a tugging and pushed her away from himself easily. Before, she had been the one to control their thoughts, but now her power was far less than his own. Why would he go back? Where was back?

 _This is not what we came to do, Shemric, came the voice again._ He was surprised that she was able to re-enter his mind. He slapped her away again but she came back quickly. _You have to find a way to disperse that power without destroying yourself and us all, she said. You can do it. I don't know how, but you do._

He thought for a time and wondered why the voice was so insistent. He had power to right the wrongs of the galaxy. He had power to make bad things stop happening. He had power to do … well, whatever he wished. Why would he give that up?

 _This is not what you want to be, Shemric._

STOP USING THAT NAME. I AM NOT … HIM, ANY LONGER. I AM MORE.

He felt the voice, the presence, cringe and recede, but then it was back again.

 _It is not up to you to solve all the galaxy's problems, came the voice again. We must all make our own choices. We have done what we came to do._

He could not really remember why they had come. It did not really matter. He had ascended to something more and now he intended to use the power to do … what? He was not sure, really. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he realized that he did not have the wisdom, the knowledge or the skill to fix all the problems that his power would allow him to resolve. He pushed that thought down. He _was_ more and now he would _do_ more.

 _Think of our daughter, Shemric, said the annoying voice again. Our daughter does not need an all-powerful being. She needs her father._

A vision came into his mind of a man and a little girl. The man was swinging the girl about as she laughed and laughed until they both tumbled to the ground. _Daddy, daddy, again! cried the child._ She had dark hair that streamed behind her in the breeze and she looked at him with such … love?

WHO AM I? he asked.

 _You are Shemric Norm. Man. Jedi. Friend. Lover. Spouse. Father._ The voice had a kindly tone to it, but it was also determined, as if it intended to claim its own. _You are mine, Shemric. I have given my life to you. You need to set this thing down and take that life back. You need to find a way._

He thought on this and examined all his memories of the life of the man that had been Shemric Norm. It seemed rather small. He did not want to become less.

 _Daddy?_

This was not the same voice. The annoying one. This was different. This voice was helpless and without logic. It simply needed. Who was it? Why did it need him?

 _Daddy?_

That man who had been Shemric Norm felt tentatively at the connection with the voice. He wanted to find out. He did not want to destroy it inadvertently. He followed the connection and found it linked him to the Annoying Voice, but it also continued far beyond and stretched across the galaxy to a network of others. Those connections were a part of him.

 _Julienne is right, Shemric,_ came another voice. _This is not what you want to be. Find a way to put it down._

 _Use the power to find a way, Shemric,_ came the Annoying Voice. But Shemric knew it was not the Annoying Voice, it was Julienne Qa Monikas. He reached out and tugged on that connection and felt her join with him.

 _I am glad you are back, Shemric, but you need to find a way out of this quickly, said Julienne. Your body cannot sustain this for very long._

 _I do not know what to do, he said._

 _Well, do better, she said._

Shemric sensed she was correct and he remember the other voice. Use the power to find a way. He extended his senses into the roots of the planet. He felt along the unlimited pathways that connected all living things and he sense a dying, groaning planet and its people that had been slowly drained to give the Emperor his power. It was wrong. Shem reached out to the trees and the water and the sky and poured his power into them until they were full of life again. He reached into the people and gave them hope. He reached down into the planet's core and fixed the damage there. He touched a million little things and made them whole. Flowers bloomed, small birds sang, water became pure and the sky became blue.

 _Enough, Shemric, said Julienne. You must leave something for yourself._

Shem stopped fixing things and realized his awareness had shrunk down to his immediate vicinity, much as it always had been when he reached out in the Force. He felt … himself again.

 _Daddy?_

Shemric smiled inwardly as he finally recognized the voice. He was going to be a father. With a sigh and an inward smile, he felt his body's utter exhaustion and could do nothing as the floor came up and smacked him in the face.

* * *

Julienne sensed Shemric passing out but could do nothing to catch him. The entire exchange after the Emperor's death had taken mere heartbeats to accomplish and to an outside observer, Shem's Jedi friend had attacked fewer than five seconds earlier. However, with the death of the Emperor and the release of his pent-up Force energy, the atmosphere of the council chamber changed dramatically. Men and women who had been fighting stopped suddenly. The air felt … different.

Jedi and Sith who had been fighting stood back and eyed each other warily and then looked to the center of the chamber.

"The Emperor is destroyed," she said, and projected her voice so all could here. "What becomes of the Sith now is up to you, and others. Let us end this conflict." Warriors of all types began backing away from each other and checking their dead and wounded. Some looked stunned. Other faces held the triumph of success.

The Mandalorian Stryver landed close to Shemric and looked down at him.

"Did he survive?" she asked.

"His body is still alive," replied Julienne. She feared his mind may have fled away; she could not sense him in any way.

"Well, we can't have that," said Stryver and pulled a pistol to aim at Shemric's head.

Julienne was so shocked that she could not even react. In slow motion, she watched the Mando's finger compress on the trigger. Shem was going to be killed.

A metal object flashed out of nowhere and struck the warriors arm. The shot that would have discharged into Shem's head stuck the tile harmlessly.

Julienne's half-formed cry turned into a blast of air that sent the Mando tumbling. Mandalorians all over the room opened up on Jedi and Sith alike as Stryver came back to her feet and came blasting back toward Julienne and Shem.

"What are you doing?!" she shouted as she deflected blaster bolts back at the Mando champion.

"It is time to clean up all the Force-users and free the galaxy of their tyrannical rule!" shouted Stryver.

The attack was so unexpected that Julienne was barely reacting at all.

When other Mandos landed near her, she nearly took the head off the first who approached until he held up his hands. "Take care of Stryver!" yelled the man she knew as Wash. He began dragging Shem to cover as the other Mando fought their own.

To finally destroy the Emperor and then have this happen was intolerable. Her anger pulsed and with it her fear for Shemric and their child increased. She took it in and stoked it and fed it into lightning that burst out of her hands in a nearly-solid line of pure energy that connected her for a fraction of a second to the flying Mando champion. When it touched Stryver, she exploded from the inside, her tissue vaporizing in an instant and what was left fell to the ground in a lifeless heap and did not move.

Julienne looked around to see that the Sith and Jedi had teamed up against the remaining Mandos. Under that intense onslaught, the fight ended quickly and again there was silence. Grand Master Shan mounted the dais and put a hand to Shemric's neck.

"You need to take him away quickly, Monikas," she said. "We will withdraw with you out the way we came. I don't know what that was with the Mandalorians, but your surviving Sith council members may get the same idea." She retrieved her saber and stood scanning the chamber before beckoning to several of the Jedi.

The man Julienne recognized as Panarch took her orders and gathered their dead and wounded. In a few moments, Nocturne and her old master approached very cautiously.

"So you managed to succeed, my old apprentice," said Acina. "What does that mean to the Empire?"

"A new start," said Julienne, but Acina laughed.

"Always so naïve," said Acina.

Nocturne was eyeing the two of them carefully.

"What do you intend now, Monikas?" he asked.

"I intend to leave," she said. "This was never about collecting power for myself."

Nocturne nodded but Acina laughed again.

"Do you think this is the end of the game? Do you think you can just quit?" said Acina.

Julienne stood up to her full height and gathered all her strength of character and the Force about her. "Do not come looking for me, Acina," she warned. "Do not underestimate my wrath if someone decides to attack my family."

Acina met her eyes in surprise and blinked several times as if she was trying to understand what she was seeing. She did not like it at all. She let out a derisive laugh and whirled to depart.

"Good luck, Monikas," said Nocturne quietly. "I can't see how you are going to escape the politics of this transition, but I wish you well." They nodded to each other and he, too, turned and walked away.

The Jedi were already carrying Shem away and she loped to catch up to them and keep an eye out for threats. They were done here and now the only question was whether or not Shem would ever wake up.


	41. Chapter 41

**Somewhere-sometime**

Shemric became aware of himself very slowly. In the beginning he had not remembered that was his name, but it had come back to him shortly after he thought about it for a while. He was Shemric Norm, and … What else? Ahh, he was a Jedi. Was that his defining characteristic? No, there was something else. Someone else about whom he spent most of his time thinking. Flashes of memory came to his mind. The Dark Lady. She brandished a red light saber in battle and was magnificently dangerous. Were they enemies? They certainly fought each other often enough, but that did not seem right. Shem saw flashes of other things, bodies entwined. _They were not wearing clothes!_

So they were not enemies, they were lovers. How interesting. Who was the Dark Lady and what did she mean to him? Other memories came to him. Jedi Masters, fighting, broken landscapes, destruction. Enemies for real this time. Shriveled Sith Lords bent on his destruction. It was odd. The Dark Lady was there whenever he faced the Sith, but he had very few other memories of her. She was no quick fling; of that he was sure. The memories of her, though few, stretched over the years. It was a mystery.

Shemric saw his family. His mother's face. His baby sister. They were a comfort but they did not help connect him to the Dark Lady. He went back to the beginning. Their first meeting. She was not yet the Dark Lady, then, but just a skinny girl. What was her name? Shemric began to be frustrated. How could she be so important if he could not even remember her name? He moved forward in time as far as he could manage. They were at the Jedi Temple and she was waiting on the front steps. How impressive she was there, dressed all in black robes and armor with that claw tattoo around her eye. She was Darth Monikas.

Shem smiled. Now he knew who she was, but why would he be associating so closely with a Sith Lord. She smiled at him and led him off to Shem's room in the temple. She was … _Julienne Qa!_ Awareness exploded into Shemric's mind and with it, his surroundings snapped into focus. He was sitting on a beach at the edge of the water, enjoying the sun. He had definitely been here before now. He lay back and closed his eyes to feel the warmth of the sun on his skin. This was pleasant. He had a feeling he had been through something traumatic and he needed rest. This place felt restful.

Shemric's rest was disturbed by something that sounded between a squeal of delight and a cry of triumph. Shem jerked up and looked around in surprise. A woman wearing a large green hat and a tiny bathing suit threw herself onto him and held him in a crushing hug. Her vicelike grip was painful but he could not move her back. When she finally let go and sat up, he saw that it was the Dark Lady… only not. She was radiant, not dark at all and tears escaped the corners of her eyes.

 _I thought you were gone forever, Shemric, she said. If you are here then you can be there as well. Come back to us quickly, Shemric._

 _Where am I? he asked, confused._

 _This is a construct of our minds, said the Dark Lady._ No, this was clearly not the Dark Lady. This was Julienne. _I created this place for a reason but I could not find you here. I came every day to see if you might find this place but you were nowhere. I feared you were lost. It is time to wake up, Shemric._

 _How do I do that? he asked._

Julienne held out her hand and he reached for her. She was not really taking hold of his hand, she was taking hold of his mind and soul and he felt it being jammed into a … his body.

 _Open your eyes, Shemric,_ she told him, and he did.

* * *

 **Nubia—seven months after the attack on the Emperor**

The light seemed bright but he became used to it and realized he was staring at a ceiling. He tried to sit up and groaned when his body complained at the movement. He wiggled his fingers and toes and tried to move his arms but they resisted him. This is ridiculous, he thought. I can't even command my own body.

 _You have been in a coma, dear, said a voice in his head._

His eyes scanned the room frantically until they lit on a woman. Julienne. She was sitting in a comfortable chair next to the bed, holding his hand.

 _Welcome back, lover-mine, she said._

Shem focused on her face and could not quite place what was different. And then it came to him in a start. _Your tattoo is gone!_

 _Yes, your mother was happy to remove it, though Marioh was disappointed, said Julienne. He thought it made me look scarier. I told him I did not need to look scary anymore._

Shem laughed. It felt odd but enjoyable. He looked at Julienne again and focused on what was different. She was not dressed in black. The tattoo was gone. Mostly her faced looked … happy? That was not a feeling he associated with her.

 _Yes, I am happy, she said. Or at least, I am trying to learn how to be happy. In your family's home it is surprisingly easy._

 _We are in my house!? he asked._

 _Of course, it was the first place of which I thought when you did not wake up after a reasonable period of time, said Julienne. I was very careful coming here so that we would be safe, but of course, they welcomed me. They were very sad for you. I should probably tell them you are awake. You are going to have to speak to them. How is your voice?_

"I love you," he croaked. It did not sound very romantic, but again it brought tears to her eyes.

"I love you, too, Shemric," she said. "It is nice to hear you speak after so long."

"Can I sit up a bit?" he asked. She rose awkwardly and that is when he realized what he had been missing. She had been resting her hand on her belly, which was rounded and protruding.

"You are pregnant!" he said.

"Well, now I know that your brain is working since you can make such keen observations," she said. She helped him sit up and he could not help but lift his hand to her belly. She covered it with her own and they remained there for a time. Shem reached out in the Force and felt for a heartbeat. It came to him almost immediately. A large steady one and a small, furiously beating one. He gasped at the realization that she was carrying his child.

 _That's what you wanted, she said._

Now it was Shemric's turn to cry and the moment was only spoiled by Marioh bursting through the door.

"Did I hear voices, Darth Monikas? Is he awake?" said Marioh. Shem's younger brother was bigger than Shem remembered, but it had been a number of years since his last visit. He met Marioh's eyes and the boy practically hopped up and down. Then he shouted.

"Mom! Dad! Nina! Shem is finally awake!" and then launched himself on the bed.

Soon the entire family was packed into the small room and the cries of joy and astonishment went on and on. Shemric wondered if this is how a rag doll felt being passed from one person to another with no ability to move on your own. He was so feeble that he could not help starting to cry.

"Ok, everyone, I think we are crowding him," said Shem's father. "Let's give him some time alone with his wife." Marioh did not look happy, but soon they were alone again and the door was closed.

 _So I have been in a coma for … what, six months? Asked Shem._

 _Seven and a half months, actually, she said. We returned to Tython and the Grand Master put you in the care of your lead healer, Master Slocum. After a month he came to me and said there was nothing wrong with your body, but your mind was … disconnected. He suggested I take you somewhere familiar. He was not experienced in issues of the mind, but he believed that surrounding you with something you knew might help. The Grand Master arranged for an escort and a ship so I could disappear. I spent a lot of time backtracking to make sure no one could follow us._

 _Again, your mother was waiting for me when I arrived. She had this room ready. She gave the same diagnosis that Slocum did; your body was fine. She sat and read to you most every day. You father just came in and watched you. He has been very kind to me. I think that having my belly pop out with your child inside calmed his fears about me._

 _It seems I have missed a few things, he said._

 _Well, I imagine now that you are awake and moving you should gain strength quickly, she said. You look like a skeleton now._

Right on cue, his mother returned with a bowl of soup and some bread.

"You should probably feed him Julienne, but if he complains, let him do it himself until he has dropped the spoon a few times and spilled the soup on his bedsheets," said mom. "Try to be magnanimous when he asks if you will help." She gave him a sweet smile and winked before handing the tray to Julienne and then leaving.

Julienne gave him an expectant look and he scowled. "Go ahead," he said.

 _She is a very clever woman, said Julienne. Just watching her teaches me half the things I may need to know to be a mother, which frankly, is more terrifying than facing an army of Mandos._

They continued to talk while she fed him soup, but she always steered away from the final confrontation whenever he started to ask about it.

 _I can sense that there is something you are not telling me_ , said Shem.

 _The casualties among the Jedi and the Sith were very high, but it was not for the reason you might think, said Julienne. After you collapsed and it became apparent that the Emperor was destroyed, the Mandos kept fighting the Sith from the Citadel and turned on the Jedi and Sith who were allied._

 _What? Why would they do that? That does not make any sense, said Shem._

 _We had to destroy them to the last man or woman, said Julienne. I killed Stryver myself,_ she admitted with a grimace. _She was ranting about destroying all Force-users and taking back the galaxy._

Shem rubbed his eyes and wondered at the oddity of it. Mandos allied with Jedi and Sith and then switching sides in the middle. Or at the end of the fight. He did not really want to ask about the Jedi Masters who had been killed. He suddenly wondered if any of the Sith who perished had been Julienne's friends.

 _I told you, I never had friends, said Julienne. But there were some I respected. There were some who put the good of the Empire before their own lives. Probably a third of our casualties came after you collapsed. And your friends among the Mandos apparently did not get the memo and they fought against some of their own folk for a time. It was pure chaos until we killed all the Mandos._

 _Let me guess; Wash and his training group were not in agreement with Stryver, said Shem._

 _They actually came over to see if you had survived, said Julienne. One of the other Mandos shot one in the back and she was killed. The others went crazy after that, except the man Wash, who dragged your body under cover while I engaged Stryver. You inspire loyalty in your friends._

 _But Haima was killed? he asked sadly._ It had to be her as she was the only female.

 _I think that was her name, said Julienne. I am sorry._

 _She kept me company during a very lonely time and was surprising kind, he said. She wanted more but … "_ Shemric shrugged. He was never really sure if he just cried from one piece of news to the next continuously, or if there was some starting and stopping in between. _And Stryver?_

 _I fried her, Julienne said shortly. I was very angry by then. I could not sense you at all and I had thought the Emperor's destruction would have ended the conflict. She was flying around trying to get at you and I just lit her up. I hate to say it, but without the Mandos we might not have forced our way in, but then we lost as many people to them as we did to the Dark Council and the guard._

 _And what of the Empire? he asked._

 _Acina was made Empress, she said casually._

 _Really? he said in surprise. I did not get the impression she was one of the more powerful members of the council._

 _She was not, but only about a third of them survived and she managed to gain enough support from the other Sith, said Julienne._

Marioh came bursting into the room and then stopped abruptly. Julienne raised an eyebrow at him and he practically jumped. "I'm sorry Lord Monikas, I just wondered how long you were going to stay in here with Shemric." He squirmed a bit before continuing. "Mum said not to disturb you but I did not hear any talking. What were you doing?"

Julienne smiled. "Marioh, I have told you that you can call me Julienne. I _am_ your sister-in-law."

"But Darth Monikas sounds so much cooler," said Marioh.

"If you knew the things I had to do to become Darth Monikas, you might not think it was very cool at all, Marioh," she said. Her voice was a little sad and her face took on a sterner cast.

Marioh's eyes widened at her expression and he was torn between fright and curiosity. "Well, if you have a minute, could you use the remote against me? I mean, I know you can't fight anymore, but …" That seemed to exhaust his supply of words.

"Marioh, I am pregnant, not injured," said Julienne. "I suspect I could still pound you flat if need be, even seven months along, but let's not upset your mother, shall we? I will find you later."

Marioh impulsively ran over and hugged Julienne. Surprisingly, Julienne not only returned the hug but seemed to have moist eyes when his brother left, slamming the door in the process.

Shemric reached over and touched her hand. _I am near as bad as you, these days, she said. Crying over everything. Even just a young boy who wants my company._

 _He has never had a Sith Lord for a sister before, said Shem. The novelty will wear off._

 _You forget that I have been here for nearly seven months, she pointed out. He's been like this from the beginning and he still can't decide if he needs to be afraid of me._

 _I will tell him to err on the side of caution and be afraid of you, said Shem. I know I am._

Her sniff told him what she thought of his joke. _You have never been afraid of me. Not since the day we met on Taris._

 _Oh, I am not sure about that, he said. There were times when you scared me as Darth Monikas._

 _Being afraid_ for _me is not the same as being afraid_ of _me, she said._

 _I suppose that is true, he said. When are you going to tell me who survived and who did not? he said quickly, changing the subject back._

 _The Grand Master lived, of course, and you saw what happened to the battlemaster…" said Julienne._

 _She tipped the balance, said Shem. Without her, I would have been sucked dry._

 _I think she was very fond of you, Shem, said Julienne. I don't think she hesitated when you were in need._

This time Shem could not find the tears but was surprised to see that Julienne had. _What is this? Have we swapped roles?_

 _It pains me to see you not grieving in your normal fashion, she said. I know what you are feeling but your emotions are disconnected. I understand a little of that._

 _And it gets better? he asked._

 _In a way, she said. You feel the pain more keenly, but then you start to heal._

 _I hope so, he said._

With a great deal of attention and a lot of liquid food, Shem asked if he could get out of bed on the second day. It took Juju on one side and his mother on the other, but he managed to make it out to the front couch before he was done. Activity swirled about him and he was the center of it without really being a part. He had been a constant presence for seven months, but that presence had not spoken so nobody really expected the awake Shemric to say much now either. There was some comfort in that. He should not have been surprised that life went on without him.

As the days went by, Julienne's belly continued to stick out and Shem increased rapidly in strength. Marioh was impressed how much he could eat and still stay skinny, but Shem could feel his body trying to mend itself and he gave it a nudge on occasion until his mother took him to task.

"Patience, Shemric," she told him one day. "You can't undo seven months in a few weeks."

"And yet, momma, I seem to be in remarkably good shape, considering everything,' he said.

"Well, I kept you from getting bedsores, obviously," she said.

* * *

His relationship with Julienne was as complicated as ever, given her condition and her dislike of having to accept help from others. She loved to blame him for just about everything and spent a great deal of time crying for no apparent reason.

 _You are lucky you were not here during morning sickness, she commented. I would not have been very nice to you when I was throwing up all the time._

 _I am glad I missed that, then, he said._

 _You mom knew all sorts of tricks, of course, said Julienne. She is a very popular doctor around here._ They were out walking around the yard and between Shem's weakness and Juju's pregnancy, they were a matched pair of hobbling fools. To Shemric's surprise, she had begun to tell him about her experiences growing up at the Sith Academy and what the training had been like. She told him about when the visions had started and she wondered if she was going to end up insane.

 _It was not an easy time for me, she said. I had no idea what was happening and why I should be paying attention. Some of the things I saw then came to pass and only in hindsight can I go back and interpret them to make very much sense._

It was nearly impossible to go anywhere without Marioh turning up eventually. This walk proved to be no different as he tried to surprise them from behind some tall grass until he yelped as Julienne swatted him lightly in mid-air when he tried leaped at them.

"How do you always know I am there, Aunt Juju?" Marioh asked once he had dusted himself off.

"You know I will never divulge Sith secrets," said Julienne with an utterly straight face. Marioh's eyes widened and he looked properly intimidated.

"Not even for your favorite bro'?" asked Marioh.

"Who says you are my favorite?" said Julienne. "Nina is nice and quiet and Eliahza is as adorable as one can imagine." Marioh's face fell before Julienne laughed and he rushed up to hug her awkwardly around her large belly.

"That baby better come soon," said Marioh, "or you are going to tip over."

"Probably," agreed Julienne.

Shemric's anticipation of their child's birth was a source of concern and no small amount of trepidation. That his mother was there was a great comfort and in truth, Shemric had assisted the delivery of two Twi'lek babies back on Tython, but neither of those had been his own daughter. That it was a girl he had no doubt, even if Julienne would admit nothing.

Before the actual labor began, Julienne had made Shemric and his mother promise that they would not perform any of their Jedi, pain-soothing techniques. "I can have a baby just like any other woman," she had said. His mother had smiled and mentioned that other mothers still had medicine to dull the pain.

"But, hey, far be it from me to tell a Sith Lord how to give birth," his mother had said to Julienne.

With a med droid by the bed, and Shemric holding her hand, Julienne had a relatively short labor and delivery that had involved a minimum amount of shouting and only one threat to Shem's person. For his part, Shem discovered that helping deliver a baby and watching his own child being born were nothing alike. When his mother handed Julienne a messy and very loud baby girl, Shem had simply found no words to describe his feelings.

When the baby quieted down almost immediately, Shem gave Julienne a very questioning look.

 _My girl knows her momma_ , was all she said, but Shem could sense the Force-calming technique that had the baby quieted and content in a very short time. Later in the day, he found himself sitting on a bench outside with his sister, Nina, while Julienne was sleeping.

Nina was usually quiet, and today was no different. They rocked on the bench slowly and enjoyed the afternoon breeze while taking turns holding the child.

"I can't believe you two have not even thought of a name, Shem," said Nina. "We can't keep calling her 'baby girl' forever."

"We will think of something," he promised. "This child has been a long time coming."


	42. Chapter 42

**3642-Nubia**

To say that Julienne was happy to no longer be pregnant would have been the understatement of the year. Despite Shem and his mother's concern, she was up and active in a very short time and would not accept their counsel to get more rest and start out slowly. As the weeks went by, it appeared that Julienne was perfectly sound and seemed to be healing faster than Shemric. It probably helped that they got plenty of sleep and their baby did not cry much at night. Shemric thought it was the low hum of satisfaction that permeated Julienne's day to day aura in the Force.

Or course, the issue of a name for their child started to become a point of contention.

"You mean you have not seen her name in a vision somewhere?" Shem joked one day.

 _My Force visions stopped after the Emperor was destroyed, said Julienne._

Shem started and turned to look at her as she was holding the baby. "What? You never told me that."

 _It must have slipped my mind, she said. How about Allykai?_ she suggested in a clear attempt to change the subject.

Shem knew better than to agree or disagree with the sample names by then. If you agreed with her she would launch into an argument about why it was a bad name and if you disagreed she would try and convince you it was a great name.

She looked up at him slyly as if she knew what he was trying to do. "Jalina," she said a moment later.

"I like it," he agreed. She looked up in surprise and did not argue at all.

"Jalina it is, then," she said. It may have been Shem's imagination but he swore that their daughter had looked up when the name had been spoken.

 _She was just agreeing with us, said Juju._

 _Have you already started speaking with her? he asked._

 _Her thoughts are a bit fuzzy and involve sleeping, not having messy diapers and nursing off her momma, said Julienne. There is not much to talk about yet._ She winked, though, as if she knew more than she was letting on.

 _Has Marioh ask you whether she is going to be a Sith or a Jedi, yet? he asked._

 _Oh, he asked me that months ago, when you were taking a break, said Julienne._ She looked over and smiled. _I told him that was undecided._

Shem snorted loudly and tried to imagine their future. It was going to be complicated and if Juju was not seeing visions anymore, then they were stuck waiting for it to come, just like everyone else.

Jalina grew rapidly and with her grew Shem's impending sense of coming change. He did not really understand it and Julienne refused to discuss it with him. She claimed they would know when it was time to leave and what they would do when they did. She had started to train him again, though she was definitely stronger than him and likely very near her former fitness level. Some days Shem felt fine and others he exhausted easily. Whenever they sparred, he always lost and Julienne never showed any mercy at all. She did not tease him about it, but she never let up and she never let him win.

When two months had passed since Jalina's birth, she had given him a typical beat-down in the forested hills behind the house during a time the baby was sleeping. It had been his best effort in some time and he nearly felt back to his old self except that he knew his conditioning was lacking. They ran every morning and that was helping, but somehow she was managing to keep ahead of him. When he questioned her about it, her reply caught him off guard.

 _I think you lost some of your strength in the fight with the Emperor, she said. Your Force-aura is not quite as … solid._

Shem had stopped the session mid-fight and received a solid shock and whack for his decision, but he did not like contemplating that he might never be … well, as good again.

 _Again with the worrying, she said. You can't do anything but keep trying. I actually think you are getting a little bit of strength back._ Shem figured she was just trying to put a positive spin on it, but she sounded sincere.

The decision regarding their future was decided in a way neither of them had expected, or if Julienne had seen it, she had certainly not shared. The two of them were out in the woods again training when a feeling of malice and ill intent hit them strong enough that they both stopped mid-swing and stared off into the distance.

 _Someone is coming._ The thought came simultaneous to them spinning and leaping down the hill toward the house. By the time they arrived, they met Nina carrying Eliahza, with Marioh in tow and Shem's mother holding Jalina. Moments later a skimmer set down in the back yard and Shem's oldest sister Shaliah leaped out with a concerned expression on her face.

"Jorianne," began Julienne. "This is our fault. We stayed too long."

Shem's father emerged right on his wife's heels.

"That is nonsense, Julienne," said his father. "We welcomed you knowing fully the threat and we have planned for it. Do you trust Shaliah to take baby Jalina while we deal with this?"

Shem wondered what his wife would say to that. Julienne and Shaliah talked very little and he was not sure if there was an affection between them or not.

"Of course," said Julienne immediately.

His mother handed Jalina to Julienne, who kissed her tenderly on the forehead before motioning for Shem to come closer. He kissed her as well, but Julienne would not hand her over. Long moments passes as she looked tenderly at their daughter. When her face changed again, Shem had no doubt he was looking at Darth Monikas about to bring devastation to her enemies. He shivered just a bit while she handed Jalina over to Shaliah and quickly hugged Nina and Marioh. Shaliah took off moments later in a concussion of thrusters.

When he turned back to the house, he noticed his father and mother were holding sabers and both were dressed for combat. He was about to protest before his father held up a hand. Even these many years later, that still quieted him in an instant.

"We will follow your lead on this, Julienne," he said. "I suspect they are your people."

She nodded and Shem had to run to follow her through the house to their room. Weapons and armor were strapped on and they strode out the front door to look out on the rolling fields.

"How many, do you think?" asked Julienne.

It was his mother that replied. "At least a company," she said. "Probably upwards of a hundred-fifty men. Some are Force sensitive, perhaps a dozen."

Julienne nodded. She had pulled on a black cloak over her armor and looked every bit the Sith Lord.

 _I think this force was meant for us, she said. I think they discount your parents as a threat. That is going to make the difference._

They emerged from the house and walked to the edge of the hilltop as a skimmer came into view and set down in the road. Two other skimmers of a military grade with heavy armament were hovering back several hundred meters and it was not hard to make out the men coming in through the planted fields.

A man emerged and Julienne sucked air through her teeth. Shem could sense her anger.

 _This was Acina, she said. This man is the commander of her personal guard. I would guess these are her forces._

 _Do you think she acts as Empress or just on her own? he asked. That could change the dynamics of this._

 _Only the aftermath, she said. Not the fight before us. Stay with me._ She began to stride down the hill.

"If it comes to it, take the skimmer on the left," whispered his father. Shem nodded and knew Monikas would hear through his ears. He followed her at a distance until she stopped some fifty meters from the commander.

A speaker from the skimmer broadcast the man's words. "Darth Monikas, by order of the Empress, you are commanded to surrender yourself to our custody and return to the Empire to face charges of treason and conspiracy."

Monikas projected her voice so that everyone within several hundred meters would hear it. "Commander Quwras, I am going to give you this one chance to return and warn the Empress. We are not a threat, but we will become so if you attack our home. Go back and tell her that we discussed this and decided it was an error of judgement."

Backed by Force-suggestion and a clearly focused Sith Lord in her anger, the poor commander looked like he had been punched in the face. After a few moments he collected himself, but his reply and delivery were shaky.

"Come now, Darth Monikas, we have you vastly outnumbered," said the man. "If you return with us, we will leave these others unharmed."

Shem was only half-concentrating on the conversation. His focus was on the weapons skimmer on the left and the slowly building anger inside of him. This was an attack on his home and family. That was insupportable. If these troops attacked, then Shem would make them an example for others. _How dare they threaten my daughter?_ It was then that Shem realized Julienne's emotions were bleeding over into his consciousness. It hardly mattered. He agreed with her on every point.

 _Take out the skimmers, said Julienne. Perhaps we can get them to back down._

Shemric saw the commander speak and the skimmers opened up a moment later with heavy laser fire. The fire reached out towards them before hitting an invisible shield and passing over his head.

Shem sensed the storm inside of him and converted the energy to lightning and sent it forth in an instant to join with the skimmer on the left. It took the lightning on its shield for a split-second before its system overloaded and blew. Shem started when the right-hand skimmer went cartwheeling through the air to impact the one he had attacked. The joint explosion was strong enough to be felt even at that distance and mowed down plants in a hundred meter radius. Two seconds later the debris impacted the ground and set off secondary explosions that made the earth tremble.

The commander spun around in time to see his heavy weapons crash before spinning in anger. Julienne gave him no time to respond. The man hurled through the air with a cry and was impaled forcefully on Julienne's twin sabers before being hurled back towards the road.

Shemric prayed the others would stop then. He did not wish to slaughter men and women who were only following orders. The détente lasted long moments until Shemric sensed a consensus among the troops spread out before them and triggers were pulled. He leaped aside and rushed to Julienne as she attacked the Sith warriors that appeared from the fields and leaped into view. A huge storm of Force-energy was boiling over their heads and he felt his parents do … something. The ground shook and heaved as he rushed to Julienne's side.

* * *

Julienne Qa-Norm may have been capable of feeling pity for the men and women about to die, but Darth Monikas felt nothing. She had warned them and now they would pay. She sensed Shemric's presence and hoped he would forgive her for what she was about to do. Darth Monikas met the invaders with sabers and lightning and psionic attacks that destroyed bodies and minds with equal effectiveness. The Sith warriors and soldiers alike had as much chance of survival as the castle made of sand has when the tide come in from the ocean.

When the last of their enemies were fleeing, Julienne stood in the middle of the field, not far from the crumbled skimmers and reached out a hand to Shemric. He leaned heavily on her then and she held him up as his strength ran out. He was not ready for this yet, but he had done as much as she to disperse their enemies. His anger had been terrible to sense through their connection and his mercy had been nonexistent. For a moment, she mourned the kindly man that he was, lost in the haze of battle frenzy.

 _Do not pity me, wife_ , he said strongly, even as he held onto her for support. _We only did what we were forced to do._

 _I agree, but I have never seen you … this way,_ she finished _._ She was not sure how to describe her feelings just then.

 _I have never been a father before, said Shem. It changes everything._

Julienne sensed a terrible resolve in him. He would tear down the Empire to find Acina now. She did not think that would be necessary.

 _We must make her an example, he said. If they will not let us alone then let them fear us._

Julienne nodded and turned back to the house. She could see from a distance that it was burning. She knew it was just a house, but it was a home to people who had taken her in and accepted her and loved her. Shem was correct. Someone would pay.

* * *

Shemric's father met them at the road and took Shemric from Julienne. Shem felt like someone had turned all his bones to jelly. He felt limp in his father's arms as he was carried to the back yard and set down in the garage that held the family vehicles. They had given the rapidly burning house a wide birth.

"I am sorry, Dad," he found himself saying. "They burned down the house. It is all my fault."

"Shhhh, son," said his father. "None of that. It is wood and metal and brick and alloy. Nothing of true value was inside."

Shem's mother leaned over him then and felt his forehead but he could feel her fatigue as well. "Leave me be, mums," he said. "I'll be better in a bit."

She ignored him and soon he had Julienne leaning over him as well. Eventually his mother pronounced that he was tired but would survive. His father strapped him into one of the aircars and then suggested that his mother drive while he went in the other vehicle with Julienne. Shem suspected it was the tactician in his father, who wanted to split up the parents so that his children and grandchildren would still have a father or mother if something happened to one vehicle or the other.

They did not drive to the city though; his mother followed the road into the mountains until Shem sensed a large ship landing in a nearby clearing. He also sensed his siblings and daughter, so Shaliah had returned. His father carried him to the ship and strapped him into a bunk. They accelerated away from the surface and the fatigue, combined with the heavy gravity forces pulled him down into darkness.

* * *

Shemric awoke to the pleasant sense of Julienne and Jalina snuggled up next to him on his bunk. Normally, he complained when Julienne let Jalina sleep with them because he never slept well. This time though, after the threats they had faced, he was happy to have his baby close.

He noted his mom had put an IV in his arm and he did not have a headache, so that was a good sign. He wondered where they were headed or if they were just orbiting somewhere until they decided on a plan.

 _We are currently orbiting Alderaan, said Julienne. Now stop thinking so loud or you will wake up the baby._ He snorted and received a poke in the ribs for it. _I was not joking. She is very sensitive._

 _Well, I will try to whisper, then, he said._ He did moderate the strength of his sending though. Julienne was an overprotective mother.

 _When you have as many enemies as we do, can you be overprotective?_ she asked.

 _I cannot answer that, he said. Did you make a plan without me?_

 _Your parents don't like it, but they think we need to visit Dromund Kaas, said Julienne. They are going to take the children and Jalina and find a nice place to hide until we contact them. But relax, you are in no shape to do much of anything right now, so there is no hurry. Go back to sleep._

The next time Shem woke, he was alone and hungry, so he got up and went looking for everyone. When he emerged into the cramped but comfortable lounge, everyone started asking how he was at once. Nina brought him something to eat and then took Marioh off to his bunk while the adults discussed strategy.

"We have had a plan in place since your first visit, Julienne," said his mother. "Plus, we are Force-sensitive. We can see a disturbance when it is looming. Everything that mattered is on this ship. We had a contract in place to sell our property and tidy up if we ever had to leave in a hurry."

"Still, your children have lived in that home their whole lives," said Julienne.

"Marioh thinks we are still having a grand adventure and Shaliah can go back when it is safe," said his father. "I have a feeling that none of us can predict where we are going to end up."

"I am not very comfortable with you two going off by yourself to take on the Empress," said his mother quickly.

"Nor am I," said Shemric. "We have only had Jalina for a couple of months and I cannot imagine leaving…" he left it hanging.

"… but she will never manage to grow up if we don't send a message," Julienne finished for him.

They all sat together grim-faced for a few moments until Shaliah suggested she take them to Ord Radama. "I've been looking at the maps after Julienne showed me where Dromund Kaas is located. Radama was decimated in the Great Galactic War and is supposed to be a pretty rough place now. As in, a place where folks can go to hide, acquire weapons and ships and get up to mischief. That kind of sounds like what you are going to be doing."

After some discussion, they agreed and they left Alderaan's orbit and jumped into hyperspace along the Hydian Way. They tried to keep everyone sane in a ship designed for four people that now held five adults, two teen younglings and a baby, but eventually tempers began to fray as Marioh became bored and Shaliah told him to stop touching her stuff for the dozenth time. They set down on the planet and it was an emotional farewell. At the last, Shem was not sure that Julienne was going to be able to leave Jalina.

It was an odd sight, seeing her tear-stained face harden into Darth Monikas as the ramp went up with his mother holding Jalina, but Shem might have been surprised at his own expression. Ord Radama was every bit as rough as his sister had stated, but one look from Julienne usually sent folks on their way as they moved deeper into Livien Magnus, the former capital. The once-grand city was now a haven for outlaws and weapons smugglers, which was exactly what they needed. Julienne turned out to have fairly unlimited resources as they "shopped" for weapons and equipment.

 _I received a fairly sizeable stipend when I ascended and spent very little of it, she said. But even then, most of the credits come from selling and buying starships over the years. You were there when I did it a couple of times. Stealing starships is a lucrative business. Of course, we need to buy one now, for all this stuff we purchased, but that should not be an issue._ They spent less than a day on the planet's surface before they decided they had everything they needed, to include a small transport shuttle. It was not big, comfortable, armed or maneuverable, but it was so nondescript that no one would pay them mind.

To Shem's surprise, they flew directly to Dromund Kaas and landed without delay.

 _This is my territory and I know it as well as any, she told him. Without the Emperor's influence out there, trying to sift through everyone's thoughts, we are as safe here as we are anywhere else. We need a bit of training, some recon work and intel and then a plan._

They blended into the population with Julienne doing most of the speaking, of course. It was not long before Julienne began to note differences.

 _This place is more changed than I would have imagined, she noted._ They were staying in a seedy hotel to get away from the cramped ship, but they had brought a wide array of weapons with them. The thermal detonator next to their lunch was powerful enough that it would have destroyed the entire building. _There is more life here. When you healed the planet you must have done something to the people as well. They just seem … "_ She shook her head as if she could not put her finger on what was happening.

Shemric shrugged. He had almost no recollection of the attack. The last solid memory was Nofa attacking the Emperor. He had no idea what he had done and suspected if he did remember, he still would not understand. Shem was disassembling the rather brutal-looking small cannon he had been pleased to find on Ord Radama. It was in surprising good shape and had an extra-large, portable power pack. The six barrels rotated to increase the rate of fire without heating up to quickly.

"How are you going to carry that around?" she asked as she watched him fiddle with it.

"With difficulty," he admitted. "This is really designed for two people, but with some effort, can be operated by one. I assume we are not going to go in 'guns blazing' so I can sneak in with this and if we need to cover our exit, I can blast away for a bit and then leave it behind. It is powerful enough to damage aircars and skimmers up to a reasonable level of shields or armor. We procured a couple of these on Balmorra when you and I raided that compound and stole the skimmers."

She raised an eyebrow. "A lot of this stuff you procured appears to be less precise weaponry than I would expect from you."

"I intend to leave a rather large mess if she intends to force our hand," said Shemric. "And unlike the attack the Emperor, I am not terrified of Acina at all." He patted the cannon affectionately. "If we need to leave our calling card, it is going to leave a big hole."

"You _have_ changed," she said.

"So you keep saying."

"I like it," she replied. "No more whining and more action."

"I will give you more action," he said and he left the cannon on the bed and sat down on her lap, pinning her to the chair. "I am never quite sure when you are making fun of me."

"I was serious," she said as Shemric nuzzled her neck. "Is this the time for that?"

"We are about to take on the supreme ruler of the Sith Empire … again!" he whispered into her ear. "I cannot think of a better time."

"The bed is covered in ordnance," she pointed out.

"We will have to make do," he said.

* * *

They spent the next day skulking around the underbelly of Kaas City making contact with Monikas' old informants. Most of them wore expressions of fear and shock when she came upon them, but they were still able to learn that there had been conflict between the Empress and the new Dark Council. Their best source had been a red-skinned Sith whose facial tendrils were constantly in motion as the speaker kept darting glances over his shoulder or towards the alley from which Shem and Julienne had emerged.

Their late-night reconnaissance of Acina's personal estates turned up next to nothing. _I don't sense anyone down there at all, said Julienne._ There were a few standing lights on, but otherwise there was no movement or lifeforms.

 _Could she have moved into the Citadel? he asked._

 _I guess it's possible, but that does not seem like her, said Julienne. She was fond of her luxury within the confines of her own house where others could not see it. Something odd is going on here._

They did not go out early the next day, as Julienne seemed to be trying to reach a decision about something. Finally, she risked a call to another of her old informants who reluctantly agreed to a meeting. As they were preparing to depart, she nodded at his cannon and made sure he was bringing it.

"Really, I thought you told me it was too conspicuous," he replied.

"I like that cart you picked up," she said. "Hidden in the box it does not look like anything to concern anyone. But this meeting has all the potential to be a trap, if my man has been compromised."

Shem nodded and packed the weapon and it accompanying power pack into a box and fastened it to a small anti-grav cart. Shem was wearing working-class clothes over his armor and followed Julienne at a respectful distance fit for a servant or slave.

They were to meet her contact in a busy, but not particularly fashionable shopping area that was adjacent to a city park, or what passed for one here on Dromund Kaas. When they approached the vicinity of their meet-up point, Shem definitely noticed a Force-sensitive in the vicinity. Or Julienne sensed it and he sensed her unease. Sometimes it was hard to tell.

 _I noticed it a while back but it feels familiar, she said. It is not who we came to meet but it may be worth the chance to get some answers._ Shem nodded and they plodded on as if they had nowhere better to be.

Shem was surprised that he recognized the man waiting for them. He was big, even not wearing armor, and shrouded in shadow under a collection of trees that had grown together to form a canopy.

 _Is that Nocturne? asked Shem quickly._

 _It is indeed, she confirmed. If this is a trap, then I can't sense where it may be originating. And I don't think Nocturne is foolish enough to move against us anyway. Let's see what he has to say._

 _Why would they send a member of the council as a messenger boy? asked Shem._

They approached slowly and Nocturne stepped forward and showed his face.

"Well met, Darth Monikas, Master Norm, I am pleased that I was able to intercept this meet with your contact and save you more scurrying about in the city," he said. "I think I know why you are here."

Julienne said nothing, but she nodded for him to proceed. Shem left Nocturne to her while he began to scan the area for threats. Whether Shem was tapping into Julienne's hearing or his own, it was not hard to follow.

"The Dark Council wishes to assure you that Acina was operating on her own when she sent forces against you and did so against the Council's clear disapproval and without its' knowledge," began the Sith Lord. "Acina has been stripped of her title, tried and executed for her crime of treason."

That surprised Shem and Julienne's thoughts were in turmoil. _They mean to appease us,_ Shem observed quickly _. That is why Acina is gone and they sent a council member to speak with you personally._ Shem sensed that there was more going on in Julienne's thoughts than just the present. She had been with Acina since she had returned from Taris after meeting Shemric for the first time. Julienne had never spoken of her with affection, but there had usually been respect. Acina was an authority figure in her life and now she was suddenly removed from the board.

 _If you are worrying about whether or not I'm feeling sentimental then you can ease your mind, said Julienne. Acina was a tool for me just as I was a tool for her. I was just … surprised. This is not business as usual in the Sith Empire. That the council had the power to remove her and have her tried and executed means her position was tenuous at best._

 _Or maybe she could not accept the strictures of the council and finally went too far, said Shem. Or maybe the council heard about the raid and feared our reprisal._

 _As they should, said Julienne._

Nocturne had barely finished his sentence when Julienne nodded and asked, _"_ Are you here to give us assurances that it will not happen again, and to make reparations. Shem's family home was completely destroyed and they had to flee."

Nocturne did not even blink at this news. _He knows something, Shem._

 _Then ask him, he suggested._

"You don't seem surprised," said Julienne.

"Video of the attack on your home was obtained," said Nocturne. "Acina sent a combat videographer along with her personal guard. I assure you, the council does not wish to have the ill will of _that_ family."

"Then what are you offering?" asked Julienne.

"The council wishes to speak to you," said Nocturne.

"And why would I put myself in that position?" asked Julienne.

"We wish to … make things right," said Nocturne. "I was given permission to grant whatever reparations you require, but the council has respectfully requested your presence. We recognize your position is unique, but you were … are a citizen of the Empire and we believe you have worked in the past for the good of that Empire. We want to prevent this from happening again."

"Tell them to expect me then," said Julienne. "And they better come when I call." She spun and was walking off before Nocturne had a chance to open his mouth.

"How are you going to …?" he began.

"You will know!" she said. Shem rushed to catch up to her and said nothing as they strode quickly through the shopping area's concourse. The look on her face cleared a path as surely as would have a lightsaber and they were blocks away from the meet within minutes. She was keeping her thoughts tightly controlled and he knew she would share when it suited her.

At length she finally opened up. _Something is going on that I don't understand and that thing is going to get us killed if we are not careful. We need to keep them guessing._ She led them straight back to the ship where she used the ship's computer to access a memory drive she pulled out of a pack.

It was satellite imagery of dozens of heavily defended compounds. Shem assumed it was the living areas of the council members and they were going to drop in for a visit. When she finally settled on one, he was concerned at her choice.

 _Did you have to pick the most heavily defended, hard to access one, he questioned?_

 _Yes, she said. I want them to know that none of them can hide from us. So we are going to visit my old friend Darth Marr. He is the most senior of the remaining councilors and the most likely to think that we will avoid confronting him._

 _Marr survived the attack on the Citadel, did he not? asked Shem._

 _He did, she said. He is a formidable warrior and his fortress is not going to be easy to enter, but I would prefer to make the others come to him._

 _So we go in and confront him and then make the others come to us, Shem supposed? That way there is no trap to spring._ Shem shook his head. It was going to be very problematic. _I am bringing my cannon and a double jet pack to get us out of there._

 _Add in those stun grenades and the thermal detonator, she suggested. We need to leave a mess, if need be, remember?_

* * *

They spent three days scouting Darth Marr's compound or fortress, depending on what you wanted to call it. The man's security was tight and they had made several probing forays over the wall to see what happened. Each time they were discovered somehow and had to flee. None of them had been serious attempts, but it was troubling. Finally, on the fourth day, they were sitting together in a tree when Shem jerked on the limb and nearly unseated Julienne.

 _What now? she asked._

 _I think I just found our way in, said Shem._ Shem then explained that for the third day in a row, a laundry truck had entered at exactly the same hour and been passed without stopping. _Now maybe they have thermal scanners and maybe they do not, but it did not look to me like anyone checked inside._

The next day they tried to enter via the truck without alerting the driver and were pleased when they were not searched and were able to enter the compound safely. Before the truck had even stopped, Julienne and Shem had jumped out the rear doors and hid themselves among the outbuildings of the main structure. Once it turned dark, they moved about carefully to learn the passages and areas that might give them away, but the security was clearly aimed at keeping people out; once inside, there was little hindrance to their movement.

The snuck over the wall and returned to their ship to make final plans and rest. Since they had set off several alarms in the preceding days, Shem suggested that they try to get into several of the other compounds so as not to alert Darth Marr to their real target. While not unwatched, the others proved to be far easier to penetrate and at one location, Shem and Julienne even spied out Darth Mortis moving about his residence.

 _Mortis always believed that he was his own best guard, said Julienne. I doubt I could defeat him by myself._

 _Well, let us not confront him here, said Shem._

A week after the meet with Darth Nocturne, Julienne and Shem went into Marr's estate again with the intent to confront him. The truck proved to be the ticket inside, even with increased equipment and they went to a predetermined hiding spot to wait until dark. It almost proved to be their undoing as a worker on the grounds entered the shed where they had been hiding and Julienne had been forced to shut off her mind before she could cry out. They tied her up and left the poor frightened girl in the shed, with their apologies, before traversing the grounds and climbing to the topmost point of the structure.

It appeared to be an observatory that was used by Marr to look down on the city. It was the highest point on the property and when Shem finally lugged his beastly weapon over the parapet, he let out a groan. Moving without any use of the Forceit meant his own muscles had to do the work and they were barely up to the task.

 _It was your idea to bring that monstrosity, she pointed out._

 _And you will be happy I did if things go bad, he countered._ Shem pulled out the bi-pod, set down the power pack and then sat down on a low stone bench with the weapon on his knees. _You may as well ring the doorbell, Darth Monikas._ Shem could see the white teeth of her smile in the dark of her hood and then he felt her release her tight hold on the Force. Shem did the same and he immediately picked out the essence of Darth Marr several floors below.

 _If I hear an alarm go off, I am going to light up his anti-air positions, Shem pointed out._

 _Fair enough, but let's give him a chance to respond first, she said._

The moments ticked off slowly with no alarm and only the steady rise of Darth Marr toward their position. Julienne, or Monikas, took up a position in the middle of the open area and waited. There was enough moonlight to see Marr climb the last few steps and stopped a dozen paces from Monikas. He wore one of those metal Sith masks and was rumored to have a fairly horrific visage if he allowed you to see his face.

"If I could persuade you, I would love to know how you arrived here without my notice," said a deep, gravelly voice. "I thought you had decided on elsewhere when your earlier efforts were detected."

"Please call the others, Lord Marr," said Julienne politely. That she was being polite was an indicator that she considered Marr to be a formidable foe.

"I did so as soon as I sensed you above," he said. "They will be here shortly. You need not have Master Norm point that rather large gun at me. We mean you and yours no harm. Half the council is terrified of you and while I can't say I am included in that group, I am not such a fool as to think you are harmless."

"The fact that you are standing here, in the middle of my domain, is further proof that underestimating you is a good way to die," said Marr. "So let's talk about old times, shall we? I was among those who thought your reputation was a bit inflated when you ascended, but when you sent back Lord Mygute back to me in a body bag I was forced to admit I was wrong."

"Is there a point to this?" interrupted Julienne.

 _Why is he talking so much? she asked._

 _How should I know? Shem retorted._

"Just this, said Marr. "Going back all the way to Lord Fright you have a habit of surviving when you should not. Now, some might point to your Jedi, but he was out of the picture too often to credit that line of thought. You are a survivor and frankly, something of a hero in the Empire right now. Video of the attack on the Citadel and the destruction of the Emperor has percolated through the Empire. With a little help from our own propaganda, you have become rather famous. Some question where you went after you left … "

"I was having a baby," Julienne interrupted.

Even in the darkness, Shem could sense the man's shock. He stood speechless for a time before Shem noted an aircar was inbound.

"Tell it to stay low or I will light it up, Lord Marr," said Shemric.

"As you say, Master Norm," said Marr, recovering himself. Shem watched as a dark-clad figure descended alone from the aircraft and met a house servant on the front steps. "My apologies, Lord Monikas, your revelation caught me off guard. That is … unorthodox behavior for one of our kind."

"I am not sure I have ever been, 'one of your kind', Lord Marr," said Julienne. "Not in the Academy, not when I was an apprentice and not when I ascended."

Marr nodded, as if he agreed, but did not comment further. Another aircraft was inbound, two perhaps and speech became impossible.

"The others are gathering in my war room," said Marr. "Do you wish to meet them there or have them come up here?"

 _What do you think? asked Julienne. I don't sense ill intent and I think Marr has instructed his troops to go to the outer walls. I supposed the entire council could try and kill us, but they have to know that some of them would not survive that conflict and I think they would not want to take the chance._

 _Let us go down, then, said Shem._ He heaved to his feet with a groan as Julienne told Marr to lead the way. Shem strapped on the power pack and followed at a distance. Marr's war room turned out to be a very large room with four-meter high ceilings and an enormous stone table in the center. There were four men and two women standing and conversing with each other and Shem sensed that they were more than a little discomfited. He recognized three of them from the Citadel raid and several others from the prior council before the Emperor was destroyed. They all turned to Marr as he led Julienne into the chamber and widened when they saw Shem march in with his huge gun. He ignored their looks and took a seat that gave his as wide a field of fire as possible.

They were a hard-looking crowd, and none of them seemed overly pleased to have a huge gun pointed in their faces. When Marr arrived with the remaining members of the council, it was Nocturne that went to the head of the table as the spokesman. Marr did not sit and stood opposite Shemric with his arms folded over his chest. Shem sensed his hideous eyes were fixed on Shem from behind the mask.

"Council members, now that we have all the requisite parties gathered, let's get to business," said Nocturne. Shem noted there were only nine, not the twelve that he had understood comprised the council.

"First off, let me again assure you that the council did not authorize the attack on you in your home, Darth Monikas, and we have taken the steps appropriate to remove the offending party," began Nocturne. "Second, at the appropriate time the Empire will send an explanation and an apology to the Republic for Sith troops invading a Republic world. Lastly, the Empire intends to make full reparation to the family in question. This situation is unorthodox but we will make it right."

"You said all that before," said Julienne. "Why am I here?"

"Because this council wishes to make you an offer, in the hopes that you will not be troubled by this problem again in the future," said Nocturne. "We brought all members here in good faith to show you that we are sincere, though this is not where we had expected to meet." Lord Marr moved then, and Nocturne looked uncomfortable for the first time that Shem had noticed. Darth Mortis grunted and Shem was not sure if it was discomfort or amusement at Marr's home being penetrated.

"Well, you have had your theatrics, then, Darth Nocturne," said Julienne. "Spit it out. Tell me what you came to say."

"Very well, Darth Monikas," said Nocturne. "The council has voted and we have come to ask you to become Empress."


	43. Chapter 43

**3642—Dromund Kaas**

For just a moment, Julienne waited for someone to laugh. Or protest. Or to do anything other than sit there and look at her with those expectant, worried expressions on their faces. But none of them did those things.

Shemric's thoughts were held very tightly to himself, though she could sense shock and a bit of disbelief. For her part, she had never been more glad for her long years of training to become Darth Monikas because controlling her own surprise had never been more difficult in her life than at that moment. She met the gaze of any around the table who were not masked and tried to glean their surface thoughts. This was an able group and none were weak-minded, but she still sensed that they all believed in the offer that had been made.

"Why?"

The word hung in the air and now several of the council members shifted gazes amongst each other. They were in agreement that she should be Empress, but they had their own reasons for it. Nocturne apparently had a prepared response.

"As long as you are out there, somewhere, teaming up with Master Norm then you are going to be viewed as a threat," he said. "The Empire knows that you carried out the planning and execution of the Emperor's demise. They know Master Norm had a direct hand in the actual deed. They know the two of you are linked. Your presence here confirms that. You were threatened and then you appear in Kaas City and penetrate one of the most heavily fortified locations in the area. We have discussed this at length and while some refuse to accept all the reports about you, we have decided that you have earned a place at this table, even the head."

 _You are being rather unhelpful right now, dear, said Julienne._

 _Sorry, but this is not what I expected, he said. I am trying to shift my paradigm to include it, said Shem._

"Make no mistake," continued Nocturne. "This council will all have a say in running the Empire. Acina made the grave miscalculation of thinking she could move against the will of the council. You will be the final voice and the final vote in most matters, but we are offering you a place among us, to change the course of the Empire from where it has been. You will not be an absolute monarch, but neither will you be a figurehead. Your ascension will bring a lot of confidence to the people, who see you as a hero. There are many benefits to all parties."

That seemed to exhaust his store of words. Now they were looking at her expectantly.

 _I don't want to do this, she said._

 _Of course you do not, said Shem. But I think this is the last step in our journey and why we started it in the first place. You cannot just remove a bad ruler and step away from the void you created. You have to make positive change yourself._

 _You seem to be implying I should accept, said Julienne. I would think you would hate this idea._

 _I do not like the idea of sharing you with the Empire, but it seems too obvious to me that this path was laid out for you from the beginning, said Shem. This is why we won. This is how you prevent other Juliennes from being sacrificed to the Empire despite their own wishes. This is how you lean on the course of history and tip it into a better way._

Julienne's thoughts raced ahead of her and suddenly, her visions returned. She saw the myriad paths of the future spread out before her. In some, she walked away and very little changed. Emperors came and went. Wars continued and she lived out her life happily with Shemric and their children and grandchildren. In some, she became Empress but lost Shemric and her daughter. She led the Empire to a great future and was the most famous person of her generation, but she was not happy. Finally, in a few futures, she became Empress and peace and prosperity came to the Empire and conflict with the Republic was ended. But in every one of those Shemric was struggling by her side. It was the first time she had ever seen him in a vision.

 _I am not going anywhere, my dear, said Shemric. And I will never be able to live with the idea that we could have stopped wars but chose our own interests instead._

 _Did you see what I saw? she asked in surprise._

 _Well, much of it, he said. I am sure I cannot process it as well as you can after years of practice._

 _I don't' want to do this, she said._

 _I think you said that, said Shem._ Julienne thought he might be smirking, but she did not dare take her eyes from the assembled Dark Council.

"And what place do you imagine for Shemric?" she asked.

 _What are you doing? he asked!_

 _Just making sure you don't get fat and lazy, she said._

This question was also one they had clearly considered because Darth Stekkid, one of the younger council members spoke up quickly. She had replaced Darth Ravage in the Sphere of Expansion and Diplomacy when he had been killed in the Citadel raid. She was purported to favor diplomacy more than expansion.

"We had thought to ask him to become the Dark Council's representative to the Supreme Chancellor," she said. "An ambassador, really."

Julienne had to suppress a grin at Shemric's mental groan. _Don't complain, at least you will get to travel. I actually think that is a great idea._

 _Says you, he replied._

 _So are we going to do this, my dear Shemric, she asked? You saw what I saw. You know what can happen._

 _Before the vision, I thought it was right, he said. After, well … now I sort of feel obligated. But I would have said yes even before I knew._

 _That is not how visions work, said Julienne. Nothing is sure._

 _But we managed to fulfill my vision, he said._

 _And how am I going to have more of your babies as Empress, she asked?_

 _Maybe the common people will be able to relate to an Empress who is pregnant, he said._

 _Oh, by all the wretched gods of miserable kriffing Korriban, I can't believe we are going to say yes, she said._

"I am sure he can be persuaded," was what she said out loud. "And I accept."

* * *

Shemric was amused at the relieved expression on most of the council's faces when Julienne told them she would become Empress. He decided this was the time when he drew a line in the sand and warned them what would happen if they crossed it.

He set down the gun, unstrapped the power pack and then stood and walked to the table. Since he had neither moved nor spoken during the entire exchange, he now had everyone's attention.

"Before you start hammering out the details, let me be clear about a few things," he began. "I intend to live here, among you, with my family. As my wife will serve the Empire, so I agree to serve the Republic by acting as a go-between, but I _will not_ be caught in the middle of Sith politics. Any threat to the Empress, my children or my extended family will be answered tenfold on the heads of those responsible. I will crush them and bury them so deeply that even your Sith ghosts will not be able to find them when I am finished." He very carefully met the eyes of each member of the council and none of them could stand his gaze for long. He supposed his righteous indignation driven by Force-suggestion was like staring at a bright light for men and women steeped in Darkside powers. Only Marr held his gaze and the man nodded as if they had come to an understanding between men; stay away from me and I will stay away from you.

Shemric quickly stepped back.

"Lord Marr, I assume you have a deep space communicator that is secure," he asked. When the Sith nodded, Shem went on. "Lord Monikas and I would like to speak to our family first and then we can talk about how you wish to begin." The masked man led them out of the war room to a smaller room where he ordered one of his officers to set up a call for them. It took some time, but within a few minutes Shemric's parents appeared on the monitor. They looked relieved that they had been contacted. Of course, Shem's mother immediately sensed that something was going on.

"They have asked Julienne, pardon, Darth Monikas to become Empress," said Shem without preamble.

That caused exclamations of surprise and worry from his parents. After some discussion his mother surprised him.

"Well, we are coming to Dromund Kaas then," she said.

"Is that a good idea?' asked Shemric. " _More_ Jedi in the Sith capital."

"I am not going to have my first grandchild living half-way across the galaxy," she said. "You will just have to pay me as the nanny."

Shem chuckled and it felt good to find a moment of humor in the entire crazy evening.

It took hours for them to hammer out all the details with his parents and then with the council about how they were going to proceed. The council wanted her to make an announcement as soon as possible and also speak to the people the next day.

As the discussions were going on, Shemric moved closer to Darth Marr and asked a question to which he wanted an answer.

"Why did they choose her instead of you?" he asked in a low voice. Neither of them turned to face each other.

"I don't have the face to be the 'face of the Empire'," he said, shortly. He emitted an unpleasant sound that Shemric thought might have been a chuckle. "I think the citizens need something different than what they had before with an unseen, unknowable, seemingly all-powerful Emperor. I have observed Monikas over the years and she is undoubtedly … _different_. I'm sure that has a lot to do with your influence."

He was quiet for a time before continuing. "I don't intend that she be their puppet either. Nocturne first suggested this idea to me and I brought it before the council. Because she is without ambition, she will serve the Empire well. I am content to improve our defenses and make peace with the Republic. My ambition never extended beyond controlling the Imperial military and protecting our citizens. This war was the Emperor's revenge and the path to power for others, but it was without a defining purpose beyond that, and so, to my mind, unjust and unnecessary."

"I would appreciate you not mentioning this, but I will be her strongest supporter because if she fails, none of the rest of _these_ …" and he indicated with his head all those seated at the table, " … will be up to the task of leading, and I don't want to be Emperor." That hideous chuckle came again and Shemric shivered. "I also think you cowed them with your little speech. By the time they get over being afraid of you, I suspect most of them will respect you too much to wish to move against you."

Shemric sensed a deep satisfaction from Darth Marr in the current direction of events. Julienne had told Shem that Marr had kept his distance from the political maneuvering for power and influence with the Emperor throughout much of his reign as the director of Imperial Defense. Recently he had gathered the reins of Imperial Offense and Strategy into his own hand by destroying Darth Vengean and making Decimus his pawn. Though both were nominally overseen by separate men, Julienne had heard that they reported to Marr. Having Marr's support on the council would go a long way to helping Julienne … now Monikas, succeed.

The quorum broke up after midnight and Shem and Julienne ghosted out of the estate in much the same fashion as they had arrived, and set off a couple of alarms along the way. Several of the councilors, including Marr had offered them a place to stay, but Julienne declined before Shemric could even think about an answer.

 _I have one last day before the Empire begins to devour my life, she said. I mean to relax with the father of my child and remember what we have accomplished together._

Shemric nodded and they left quietly, shrinking into the shadows without anyone noting their departure.

* * *

 **Epilogue—Tython-3641**

Shem approached the front doors of the Jedi temple slowly. This had never really been his home but he had made friends here. Master Bariim. Orosan. Sakrogi and a few others. He was not sure if Grand Master Shan was a friend or a mentor. Maybe she was both.

His thoughts of her turned his attention to the temple steps and there she was, waiting for him and smiling. She had a number of nervous guards about her but they were standing well back as he climbed the steps to meet her. He had decided to visit the temple after his last trip to Coruscant had been completed.

"Good day, Master Norm, or should I say, Ambassador Norm," she said by way of greeting. The expression on her face said that she found the turn of events most amusing.

He scowled, but he joined her laugh at his expression and they regarded each other for a moment. She reminded him of his mother.

"I was ever so happy to see you up and about, Shemric," she said. "When I left Nubia, your mother did not have much hope for your recovery. Come," she said, as she turned and gathered in her guard. "We have much to discuss." Shan led him at a brisk pace to her office and left the guard behind at the doors. "I am glad you came Shemric. Events in the galaxy are moving and they seem to be swirling about you, as usual."

Shemric shook his head. The grand master had always loved to tease him about his importance in the grand scheme of things. For a few minutes they discussed what had happened since he had awakened and the chain of events leading to 'Empress Monikas.'

"So you are settling in at the Imperial Capital on Dromund Kaas," she said. "And I assume you came to me for a reason beyond just catching up with an old friend."

"I have an idea, grand master, and wish to see if you would support it," said Shem. She nodded so he went on. "Except for occasional trips to Coruscant, I find myself less than busily employed. In the beginning, Julienne took me with her to most of the council meetings, but as time went by and she grew more confident, she told me she preferred discussing matters in private. As such, I make a few trips but am otherwise unoccupied other than chasing my baby around the grounds." Shan shared his smile and he went on. "I would like to go back to training Jedi."

She regarded him calmly, clearly thinking about the implications of that statement. "And you want me to send them to Dromund Kaas?" she said.

"Pretty much," he agreed. "I am sure they will not want to stay for long, but perhaps ten or a dozen might come for a year or so to receive specialized training. Juju already has me training Sith apprentices to keep me busy and I want to integrate Jedi into that training."

"Well, I am sure I will not want for volunteers to come and train under the Order's most famous hero," she said. Shemric groaned, as he suppose the grand master had intended. "I will discuss it with the new Battlemaster," she said. Shemric looked up. "I appointed Master Panarch. With the death of the Emperor, his passionate hate for the Empire has cooled and he is content. Do you want younglings or knights? Or some of both."

"I think some of both," he said. "We have a fair-sized contingent at our home." He shook his head again. "Home is rather too modest a description. They gave us an enormous compound from a deceased Sith Lord. It feels more like a small village sometimes. My old commander from Balmorra, Neord, just showed up one day with a dozen of our former soldiers and their families. He proclaimed himself the royal guard and set up shop."

"Does it surprise you that your friends value your contributions?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I never did any of that to gain fame and fortune, Master Shan," he said.

"No, you did it for a better reason," she replied. "You did it for a woman."

He snorted loudly. "She is expecting again, only this time I am awake to hear all her complaints about morning sickness."

"I am sure that is exciting, Shemric," she said. "Congratulations."

"Fortunately, I had the best teachers and I ease most of her discomfort," he said. "I cannot have her throwing up in the middle of a council meeting." He shook his head. "It is so strange."

"I understand a little of that, Shemric," she said. "I never imagined that I would be here, Grand Master of the Jedi Order. You will adapt."

"I suppose," he said. They were both quiet and Shemric's thoughts turned to Nofa and her humor and good spirits.

"I miss her, too," said Shan. "She was almost the last of my peers that still saw the old Satelle and not the grand master. We could talk."

When neither of them said anything further, Shan rose and came to take him by the shoulders. "I will speak with Master Panarch and let you know what is decided. Will you be staying?"

"I need to get back," he said. "Every time I leave it seems Jalina grows a few centimeters. The last time I came back she was walking, and I missed it."

"Be well, Shemric," said Shan. "You have never truly been a part of us and yet, you always served the Order in your own way. And you continue to do so."

"Thank you, Master Shan," he said. "For everything."

Her smile was kindly, as if she saw more in him than he could see himself.

* * *

 **Dromund Kaas**

It was a bright day for Kaas City and Shemric had spent most of it out of doors training younglings, Sith and Jedi alike. It had taken them all a few weeks before they stopped staring at him and actually paid attention to what he was trying to teach. Fortunately, he had Master Shan to help.

She had sent him a transmission saying the first group of Jedi would be leaving soon and then appeared with them at the compound gates. She claimed she was done playing politics and wanted to spend some time with children herself. Shem suspected Shan had been communicating with his mother all along. Apparently the two of them had spent a lot of time together when Shan and Julienne had brought Shem to Nubia and talked about 'retirement' then.

With the former grand master and Shem's father as well, the new trainees certainly had plenty of instructor attention and Shem was satisfied. The knights who had come were still uneasy with their Sith counterparts, but both factions could not complain about the quality of the instruction. Marioh had even made a number of friends among the Sith and seemed quite set up about it.

Julienne had suggested the Republic children integrate with their Imperial counterparts and so they were learning and growing in at an amalgamated school that taught Republic and Sith history together. It was a very strange galaxy.

Shemric excused himself as he sensed Julienne nearing their home with her escort. The aircar touched down while several escort skimmers circled for a time before flying away. He had to run to reach the main house before she did and scooped up Jalina along the way just in time to meet Juju at the door. She gave a small smile when Jalina cried, "Mommy!" and leaned precariously in Shem's arms toward her mother.

 _You don't have to leave training just because I come home, she pointed out._

 _Do I not?_ he said and hugged the Empress. It had become a standing joke between them that he sometimes addressed her as Empress Juju in private.

Jalina soon became bored with the hugging and slithered out of their arms to return to her grandmother. _My ankles are swelling again in these boots, said Julienne. I am not sure how being pregnant_ and _Empress is going to work out._

 _Well, you better figure it out, he joked. This is hardly going to be the last time._

She gave him a sharp look and led him off to their bedroom. This had become a near-daily ritual since her feet and ankles had started bothering her. She lay face down on the bed while he eased her pains and discomfort with his Force-healing.

 _I knew the day you first gave me a foot rub that I was well and truly caught, she said._ Her contentment at his restorative touch was palpable.

 _You might have mentioned that a little earlier, he noted._

 _Then you would not have worked so hard earning my undying love, she said._

 _That is true, he said. Giving you a foot rub is much easier than saving you from alchemic dogs, Sith Lords and Mandos bent on your destruction._

 _Must you remind me of all the times you kept me alive? she asked._

 _Of course, he said. How else is the Empress of the Sith Empire going to maintain her humility?_

 _By going to council meetings apparently, she groused. Sometimes diplomacy by lightsaber was easier than what we do._

 _You are sounding grumpy, he pointed out. Do you need some exercise? The others were just finishing up in the yard. In a little while we can have the grounds to ourselves._

 _In a bit, she said. My feet are fine. Now come and please the rest of me._ Shem's pleasure as he climbed on the bed at her invitation made Julienne roll her eyes. _Well, you have not changed that much from the boy I met on Taris. You may as well take advantage now; pretty soon I am going to have a big, fat belly._

 _You were never more attractive to me than you were the last time you were pregnant, he said._

 _You are a liar, she said._ She always claimed he was a terrible deceiver even before she could read his mind. There was no sense trying to assert that he was lying now. She knew better.

 _Well, hurry up then, she said. Always pleasure before work for you._

* * *

The long shadows of the bright moon were dispelled as Shem and Julienne brought their lightsabers to life and faced off.

 _Prepare to die, Jedi scum!_ shouted Julienne as she charged him.

Shemric snorted loudly and met her red blade on his blue. _I think not, Sith witch._

The red and blue light show went on for a time, but there were no spectators to see it, other than one Jedi and one Sith who had been dancing to those steps for a long time.


End file.
